Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has revealed that he’s aiming to have four more fights before hanging up his gloves for good.
“Four fights,” Whittaker told Fox Sports Australia this week. “I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I want four more, that’s me. I see the stepping stones needed to do what I want to do. Four fights gets me into that title shot, gets me into a position to finish on top, to have that fairy tale ending. I’m working towards it.”
The first of those fights is already scheduled as the 34-year-old Whittaker is set to fight Reiner de Ridder in the main event of UFC On ABC 9 in Abu Dhabi later this month on July 26th, and he says there’s plenty of options for other potential opponents after that as he plots a route back to title contention.
“The list is getting too long, now,” Whittaker joked. “I’m working. Reinier’s in the sights at the moment.”
Whittaker certainly does have some work to do as he’s coming off a tough loss to Khamzat Chimaev in his last visit to Abu Dhabi in October of last year, suffering a first round face crank submission loss, leaving him ranked No.5 in the division.
The defeat was a real blow, but Whittaker has dusted himself off and still believes he’s got what it takes to rise back up to the top.
“He was just better than me on the day,” Whittaker said of the Khamzat fight. “I could look to make as many excuses under the sun as I want, but truth is I’ve got the L now, so all you can do really is just throw yourself back in the gym, get back on the horse. Because the fight went the way it was, I’m not disheartened in my own skill set particularly much. I’m not disheartened in my striking ability, my knockout ability, so I go into this fight still with a lot of confidence that I can do what it is that I do. Prior to the Chimaev fight, that I did to Ikram, that I did to Costa, striking’s my game. He’s going to look to try and take me down and I’m not going to let him.”
