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Robert Whittaker: ‘I definitely have a few more in me now’ thanks to light heavyweight move

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8 hours ago

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Robert Whittaker: ‘I definitely have a few more in me now’ thanks to light heavyweight move

Robert Whittaker embarks on a new journey at UFC 329.

The former UFC middleweight champion makes his long-anticipated jump up to light heavyweight this Saturday when he takes on veteran Nikita Krylov at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Whittaker has spent the past 12 years competing at 185 pounds (and at welterweight before that), and so far he is thrilled with how much a less stressful weight cut has changed his life.

“The middleweight Rob Whittaker chapter has closed,†Whittaker said at UFC 329 media day on Wednesday. “I'm very happy as a light heavyweight. It is honestly life-changing. I recommend it to anybody. … I still do have to cut weight, it's just not as brutal. It's not as bad.

“I was able to fuel myself much more during the camp. Recovery was much higher. My moods were better. Everything was just better for it.â€

Whittaker has remained a top 10 contender at middleweight in recent years, but has struggled to find consistency in the cage. The 35-year-old is currently on a rare two-fight losing streak, with a split decision loss to Reinier de Ridder and a submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev.

As painful as those defeats were, it was the discouraging processes leading up to those fights that convinced Whittaker he had to make a dramatic change.

“A big prompt into why I made so many changes is that I didn't enjoy the last couple of camps and the last couple of fights and things had to change otherwise I wasn't going to continue,†Whittaker said. “So I made the changes. I moved to light heavyweight. I did the backend of my camp at City Kickboxing, just for the bodies and stuff. I brought my entire tribe with me to the fight itself and it really is life-changing for me. I'm enjoying the journey.

“Normally by this period I'm hungry, I'm water loading, I'm just longing to go home, I'm missing my wife and kids. I guess I was just counting down the days until it's over, where I feel fighting requires such a higher degree of focus and attention that you can't be looking past it. So to want to just go home is kind of splitting my attention, so I'm in a really good place right now.â€

Even better news for Whittaker and his fans, he believes the move to light heavyweight should prolong his career.

“Let's be honest, I don't want to be fighting for another five years by any means, I've got other things I want to do,†Whittaker said. “I want to play Masters soccer, things like that. But I definitely have a few more in me now because the way I was feeling after the last couple of fights, the camps, how drained I was for them, how much of a grind it was, dragging my feet to get to everything. Comparatively, I definitely have a new love and lease on the game.â€

Whittaker was not given a layup for his first light heavyweight fight. Krylov is 9-7 competing in the UFC at 205 pounds and is coming off of a knockout of Modestas Bukauskas this past January. He also holds wins over two-time title challenger Alexander Gustafsson, Volkan Oezdemir, and Johnny Walker.

Regardless of Saturday's result, Whittaker plans to stick it out in a new division, especially with some of his former foes having also made the move already.

“I don't need validation,†Whittaker said. “I know this is my weight division. I'm never going back to middleweight. That fella is gone, let alone we have Chimaev, we have [Reinier] de Ridder, we have [Paulo] Costa, they're all light heavyweights now. So I've already danced with some of them.â€

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MMA

Nikita Krylov predicts Robert Whittakers light heavyweight move will fail

Published

6 minutes ago

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July 9, 2026

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Nikita Krylov predicts Robert Whittaker's light heavyweight move will fail

Nikita Krylov would like to be the wrench in a former's champ's
plans at 205 pounds. | 📷: Getty/UFC


Nikita
Krylov wants to play spoiler for Robert
Whittaker's light heavyweight move.

Whittaker (26-9) is set to make his light heavyweight debut in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship against Krylov (31-11) at

UFC 329 on Saturday, July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las
Vegas.

Krylov believes Whittaker envisions a light heavyweight move like
Alex
Pereira, who went on to win the title at 205 pounds. However,
the Ukrainian-born Russian fighter has claimed that the former
middleweight champion's move up is more likely to end up like
Israel
Adesanya’s or Chris
Weidman's.

Nikita Krylov says Robert Whittaker’s light heavyweight move
mirrors Israel Adesanya

Adesanya only fought once at light heavyweight, losing his title
bid to then-champion Jan
Blachowicz in 2021. Weidman had also moved back to middleweight
after being thwarted at light heavyweight by Dominick
Reyes in 2019. Krylov hopes to send Whittaker back to 185
pounds in a similar fashion.

“It looks like he wants to move up like Alex
Pereira. But I think it may end up the way it did in Adesanya's
case,†Krylov told Red Corner MMA. “Jan Blachowicz beat Israel
Adesanya; Dominick Reyes beat Chris Weidman; I'd like to see
something similar for Robert as well.â€

Whittaker never reclaimed his middleweight title after losing it to
Adesanya in 2019. The Australian is moving up to light heavyweight
on the back of consecutive losses to Khamzat
Chimaev and Reinier
de Ridder.

Meanwhile, Krylov has gone 6-6 in the UFC since making his Octagon
debut in 2018. He is coming off a stoppage win over Modestas
Bukauskas, rebounding from back-to-back losses to Reyes and
Bogdan
Guskov.

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MMA

One-time title challenger booked for UFC Shanghai co-main event

Published

8 hours ago

on

July 8, 2026

By

One-time title challenger booked for UFC Shanghai co-main event

Yan Xiaonan has a tough test ahead of her if she wants to stay in the strawweight title picture as she takes on top contender Denise Gomes at UFC Shanghai.

The UFC announced Wednesday that Yan (19-5, 1 NC) is set to fight Gomes (12-3) in the co-main event of its upcoming card at Shanghai Indoor Stadium in China on Aug. 29. Umar Nurmagomedov fights Song Yadong in the headlining bantamweight bout.

This marks Yan's first appearance in over a year since losing a unanimous decision to Virna Jandiroba in April 2025. Following a 6-0 start to her UFC career, Yan has seen mixed results, going just 3-4 in her past seven appearances, including a title fight loss to Zhang Weili. Yan holds wins over current strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern and former champion Jessica Andrade.

Gomes is one of the hottest fighters at 115 pounds, having won four straight fights. In her most recent outing this past November, she earned a unanimous decision win over Tecia Pennington.

Also announced Wednesday for UFC Shanghai, top flyweight prospect Rei Tsuruya (11-1) takes on Kevin Borjas (11-5), who is coming off of an impressive upset victory over the previously undefeated Andre Lima.

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MMA

Conor McGregor dismisses Khabib Nurmagomedov's place on all-time MMA list: "The man has no courage"

Published

11 hours ago

on

July 8, 2026

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Conor McGregor dismisses Khabib Nurmagomedov's place on all-time MMA list: "The man has no courage"

Conor McGregor has no love lost for Khabib Nurmagomedov in his latest rant about his old foe.

McGregor is set to make his comeback fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday, but most fans expected “The Eagle's†name to be brought up during fight week at some point. That moment occurred during the popular Irishman's interview with Complex. McGregor was asked to rank MMA legends on an all-time list, and things went awry quickly when Nurmagomedov was mentioned.

The “Notorious†one explained why Nurmagomedov would go nowhere near his GOAT list for MMA stars both past and present.

“Thirteen fights he's had in the company,†McGregor said. “That's it, and three against named opponents.  He had a fight against me. I was off the yacht. I was doing bad things on a yacht, yeah? I was partying heavily and I was with my eyeballs in court cases and all of this. I hadn't fought in two years. I was worth 200 million. I come back and fight this [expletive] guy. I done four rounds with him and a broken toe. I'm sure you've seen the Netflix show when I broke my [expletive] foot three weeks before the bout.â€

McGregor didn't stop there, as he criticized Nurmagomedov for his style of fighting.

“This guy's nothing,†McGregor continued. “Then, where is he now also? He's gone. So, I don't rate him at all. The man has no courage. Never fought at both weight divisions. Three fights, no stoppages, no knockouts. Come on, man.â€

McGregor also discarded Nurmagomedov's run prior to entering the UFC roster. The former UFC lightweight and featherweight titleholder believes “The Eagle†was matched against inexperienced talent to pad his record.

With the “Notorious†one's recent comments, it's another reminder that peace between him and Nurmagomedov is unlikely despite the fact that their bout took place back in Oct. 2018. Nurmagomedov won the fight via fourth-round submission, and a post-fight brawl took place between both teams.

What do you make of Conor McGregor's latest rant on Khabib Nurmagomedov? Is it sour grapes, or does he have a point? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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