Robert Whittaker Claims The Fighters Who Do Make Weight Are In A Big Trouble Too
Instead of punishing fighters who miss the scale over and over, UFC might be supporting the different trend. Robert Whittaker is irritated by that. He believes the repeated offenders should be punished, not rewarded.
Let’s remember some controversial cases. Yoel Romero missed weight at UFC 221 on February 18, 2018. Despite he knocked Luke Rockhold out, he was claimed ineligible for the title fight. Romero did the same thing at UFC 225 on June 9, 2018, when he was defeated by Robert Whittaker via split decision.
Darren Till will face Tyron Woodley for UFC Welterweight title at the main event of UFC 228. The Gorilla missed the weight in the first place versus Jessin Ayari at UFC Fight Night 109 on May 28, 2017. He did the same versus Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 130 on May 27, 2018. Who knows how much kilograms he had when he was rehydrated for the match!
Robert Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) says it would be the same thing as letting him go Bantamweight. The Reaper thinks the whole thing is ridiculous. (via MMAFighting.com)
“It’s like me going down to bantamweight, not making weight, winning because I’m much bigger and then getting a title shot,” said Whittaker, who coaches opposite Kelvin Gastelum on TUF 28. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair. Because on the flip side, the guys that are making weight don’t make it easy. It wasn’t easy to cut weight and make weight and do the job. We still had to struggle, we still had to diet weeks out. We’re just more professional at it. We just did it right.”
Despite Whittaker threatened he won’t fight if Romero miss the scale, the fight wasn’t removed from the fight card. Robert Whittaker wanted the showdown. Bills have to be paid. The fighter who doesn’t have weight issues is put in a very hard position.
“The people who do make weight are also in a hard position,” Whittaker said. “Because they’re in a position where they still need to make money to pay the bills, to earn a wage, to do their job. But they also have the support of hundreds of thousands of people who have come to see them fight or that are watching them on TV to watch a fight. The fans. That’s kind of why you fight — they drive the sport.
“When you ask a guy, ‘Are you gonna take a fight if your opponent doesn’t make weight?’ Is it really asking? Does he really have a choice? When you back them into a corner like that, is there really a choice to be made? You have to look at the whole process behind it.”
Tyron Woodley stated he would fight Darren Till no matter what happens. But UFC has a backup plan with Kamaru Usman if something goes wrong. On the other side, Robert Whittaker needn’t worry about Kelvin Gastelum weight issues. Both fighters came from the UFC Welterweight division. They should fight at the beginning of 2019, as soon as Whittaker is claimed medically fit. The Reaper broke his hand in the fight versus Yoel Romero at UFC 225.
Robert Whittaker also believes the penalties for unsuccessful weight cuts are not strict enough.
“It’s a very funny topic, missing weight and getting title shots,” Whittaker said. “I think the punishments should be more severe, but I don’t know.”
Joe Rogan also mentioned monstrous weight cuts are the most perfect form of cheating. What are your thoughts? Should ONE rules and fighting on the walking weight be applied? After all, you can’t ignore possible health complications!
