Former UFC Champion ‘Toying with the Idea’ of Making Weight

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker says he is “toying with the idea” of moving up to light heavyweight. He made the statement in a recent episode of MMarket Podcast.

Whittaker mentioned how much weight he needs to cut to make 185 pounds and mentioned that he is a lot bigger than most people think. He believes he could make 205 pounds easily, but the more obvious question is whether he can compete with the best fighters in the division.

The current lightweight champion is Alex Pereira, and that doesn’t seem to be a good stylistic matchup for Whittaker. THE No. 1 candidate is Magomed Ankalaevwhose combination of striking and heavy wrestling could pose serious challenges.

The No. 2 contender is Jiri Prochazka, while at No. 3 o Jamahal Hill.

From a stylistic standpoint, the fighters who could give Whittaker the toughest tests at light heavyweight are those who can impose their will in fight sequences. So Khamzat Chimaev scored an impressive first round victory against Whittaker in October.

Would bigger light heavyweights like Ankalaev and Jan Blachowicz be too much for Whittaker because of their size and strength? It remains to be seen. Whittaker didn’t seem to have made up his mind when he mentioned it.

Still, the move makes sense at this stage in his career. Whittaker just turned 34 and his path back to a middleweight title shot is far from clear.

He has lost to current champion Dricus du Plessis, former champion Israel Adesanya and No. 3 of the Chimaev ranking. The only fighter ranked above him that he hasn’t faced is No. 1 candidate Sean Strickland.

Strickland is set for a rematch with du Plessis in February for a chance to regain the title he lost to the South African in January. Even if Strickland wins, Whittaker’s losses to du Plessis and Adesanya will place him firmly behind other contenders.

Adesanya will compete with the no. 4 of the rating Nassourdine Imavov on February 1 in Saudi Arabia. If Adesanya wins, Whittaker’s previous losses to him reinforce his position further down the line.

As Whittaker enters his 30s and after several crushing losses, it may be time to assess whether light heavyweight offers a clearer path to a title shot. We’ll see what comes of Whittaker’s flirtations with the move up.

What’s next for the UFC?

The No. 1 MMA promotion in the world is still on hiatus at the end of the year. The first event of 2025 takes place on January 11 at UFC Apex, featuring a rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas. The two first fought in October 2019, with Ribas winning by unanimous decision.

Following this event, the first pay-per-view of the year, UFC 311, will take place at The Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The card features two championship bouts: Islam Makhachev defends his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan and Merab Dvalishvili defends his bantamweight belt against Umar Nurmagomedov.