Rob Whittaker’s preparation for his UFC 308 bout with Khamzat Chimaev has seen him enlist the help of some of Australia’s best martial artists.
The former middleweight champion takes on Chimaev in a five-round co-main event in Abu Dhabi on October 26 (Oct. 27 in Australia).
Chimaev, undefeated through 13 professional fights, has a reputation as one of the sport’s most dynamic wrestlers, while he also boasts six knockout wins in a nod to the threat of his striking.
Whittaker, who turns 34 in December, believes his wealth of experience, in the cage and in training, will give him the edge over “Borz”.
Cruiserweight boxing world champion Jai Opetaia, kickboxing and Muay Thai standout Charlie Bubb, and Australian Olympic wrestler and Commonwealth Games medallist Jayden Lawrence have all lined up against Whittaker throughout his camp for the fight.
MORE: Whittaker and Opetaia share the ring for sparring session
While Whittaker guesses that wrestling has taken up about half of his training time for this fight, he hopes to demonstrate the full range of his skills in a victory which should earn him another title shot.
“One of my training partners is Jayden Lawrence,” Whittaker told Sporting News.
“He just got back from the Olympics. He medalled in the Commonwealth Games.
“He’s a pretty decent calibre of body to work with. Plus, all my training partners that I have are all professional fighters.
“A lot of them, like Jacob Malkoun, fight in the UFC as well. I have covered my bases.
“We don’t like leaving stones unturned, we don’t like not covering all our bases because as soon as you start focussing too much on one side of things, you leave yourself open for other angles.
“Obviously wrestling was heavily focussed on during this camp but we’re pretty well rounded.
“I figure he’s going to come out hard and I’m going to come out hard as well.
“I’m not going to take my foot off the pedal and I just don’t think that he’ll be able to keep up with me.
“The aggression that I’m going to show and resilience and the refusal to go away.”
UFC 308 will be the third time “The Reaper” has fought in 2024, making this his most active year since 2014.
It’s a welcome change for fans who had, at least for a few years, become accustomed to injury and illness forcing Whittaker to pull out of fights.
“That’s just sometimes how the wind blows,” Whittaker said.
“I’ve been focusing on myself, I’ve been doing a lot of the right things, I’ve been putting a lot of things in place to make sure that I’m healthy, that I can bring the best out of myself and it’s all coming together.
“You live and learn. You can’t control all factors but I do know that I’m ticking more boxes today than I was then.”
A win in Abu Dhabi will almost certainly guarantee Whittaker a title shot.
Current champion Dricus du Plessis looks set to face former beltholder Sean Strickland next, with reports speculating that fight could land at UFC 312 in Sydney on February 9.
Whittaker hasn’t fought in his hometown since 2014 and, while he wasn’t keen to discuss his chances of fighting at UFC 312, it appears unlikely at this stage, particularly if he was to hand Chimaev his first career loss.
It would cap a remarkable run for the former champion, who has bounced back from two losses to Israel Adesanya and one to du Plessis to put himself back in the title picture.
For what it’s worth, Whittaker expects du Plessis to beat Strickland for a second time.
“I have Dricus. I think Dricus is a very hard guy to beat. He’s a tough guy,” Whittaker said.
“You’ve kind of got to take the fight to him, completely, for the entire fight.
“And you need to have the same level of resolve that he does to beat him.”
That July 2023 fight with du Plessis turned out to be a coming-out party for the South African, announcing himself as a force in the division with a second-round knockout of Whittaker.
The Sydneysider has a clear idea of his approach should they meet again.
“I’m going to take the fight to him for 25 minutes,” he said.
“For 25 minutes I’m going to make it a slugfest, and just revel in it.”
Before then, Whittaker has 25 minutes to take out one of the UFC’s most-hyped fighters.
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