Whittaker in a great headspace to face Khamzat: “He likes to play the villain”

Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev. Photo USA Today and Stefan Romare

Even though it wasn’t completely unexpected, the fight between former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and undefeated star Khamzat Chimaev dropped like a bomb in the MMA world.

The fight is perhaps the most intriguing in the middleweight division at the moment, and will serve as a title eliminator according to UFC CEO Dana White.

““He’s a hard fighter,” Whittaker said about the fighting Chimaev on his MMArcade Podcast. “He likes to grapple a lot. He uses his reach and range to good effectiveness. He’s got good knockout power.”

“He likes to play the villain against his opponents, but he’s an honorable fighter. We’re going to get in there and we’re going to have an honest fight. We’re both going to leave it in there. He’s not a quitter, I’m not a quitter, so I look forward to making history in Saudi Arabia.”

Read more: 5 fights official for UFC’s ’badass’ Saudi Arabia card with Khamzat Chimaev in main event

Robert Whittaker: “It’s going to be hard”

Facing Chimaev could be a crossroad in “The Reaper’s” career. If he wins he would most likely fight for the UFC title once again, but if he loses, however, it will probably be hard to ever get a title shot again for the former champ.

“I do understand the task at hand. It’s going to be hard, and I’m going to be grinding my ass off this camp. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a good thing that after the last fight, I didn’t have any injuries.”

Read more: All you need to know about UFC Atlantic City with Anton Turkalj

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