The Film Room: Robert Whittaker
UFC 225 is now available on Amazon Prime.
After nearly a year of inaction, Robert Whittaker will make his much-anticipated return this Saturday in Chicago, where he defends his Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title against Yoel Romero in the UFC 225 main event. The latest installment of The Film Room examines some of the strategies and techniques that define “The Reaper.”
Whittaker began training in martial arts at 6 years old when his
father enrolled him in a Goju-ryu karate school. Eight years later,
he earned his black belt in the discipline and decided to switch
his training to Hapkido following a move to Menai, New South Wales.
Shortly after switching to Hapkido, his dojo was transformed into
an MMA gym to capitalize on the rise of the sport, and Whittaker
had no choice but to switch disciplines yet again. Whittaker was
not a fan of the move at first but soon fell in love with mixed
martial arts and decided to make a career out of it. Whittaker had
his first professional MMA bout at 18 years old and amassed a 9-2
record in just three years before being cast on “The Ultimate
Fighter: The Smashes” in 2012. Whittaker went on to win the
competition -- he defeated Bradley
Scott in the final -- and earn a UFC contract at age 21. He has
since won 10 of his 12 bouts inside the Octagon, establishing
himself as one of the best strikers in MMA.
Whittaker’s style carries plenty of intrigue, as he mixes classic boxing techniques with his karate background and philosophies. He keeps his lead hand low like a karateka but turns in his lead shoulder and feet to acquire a “Philly Shell”-like stance. The low lead hand allows his punches to come in at odd angles while being ready to grab an underhook to defend takedowns. Most strikes either come straight at you (rear straights and crosses) or from the side (hooks and head kicks), but very few come from up and down. The low lead hand allows Whittaker’s jab to sneak through the blind upward angle he uses to set up his right straight.
Whittaker tends to be the aggressor inside the cage, but he has shown decent countering ability when he fights aggressive opponents. Although almost anybody could have countered Derek Brunson’s childlike flailing at UFC Fight Night 101, Whittaker proved he could keep his cool under pressure and wait for the perfect moment to counter.
Whittaker finished the fight against Brunson with his patented jab-to-high-kick combo. Think of this as the “Monkey Kick,” as coined by T.J. Dillashaw. Most high kicks are thrown from the hips while keeping the torso upright. The “Monkey Kick” is a rhythm-manipulating strike during which you lean far to the opposite side while throwing it, slightly delaying the speed at which the kick is coming and catching your opponent off-guard.
Whittaker earned a TKO victory with the exact same combination against Ronaldo Souza at UFC on Fox 24. “Jacare” knew the kick was coming after the jab and covered up appropriately. However, since the kick came at a delayed speed, it landed over the top as Souza dropped his guard. Rhythm manipulation is a rare tactic in MMA and used successfully by only a handful of fighters. It can be missed by the naked eye if you are not actively looking for it. Watch for “Monkey Kicks” like these from Whittaker and other rhythm-manipulating strikes, like delayed jabs.
Although known for his striking, Whittaker has an underrated grappling game. In 2015, he struck gold at the Australian National Wrestling Championships and later qualified for Australia’s Commonwealth Games. The most important aspect of his MMA grappling is his stellar takedown defense. In their first encounter at UFC 213, Whittaker defended 14 of 18 takedown attempts from Romero, an Olympic silver medalist who is regarded as one of the most skilled wrestlers in UFC history. Although the low lead hand is ideal for grabbing underhooks, Whittaker usually elects to grab an overhook on the outside shoulder and turn sideways to either slip out his leg or hit a whizzer to defend takedowns.
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After nearly a year of inaction, Robert Whittaker will make his much-anticipated return this Saturday in Chicago, where he defends his Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title against Yoel Romero in the UFC 225 main event. The latest installment of The Film Room examines some of the strategies and techniques that define “The Reaper.”
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Whittaker began his UFC career as a welterweight. However, the
weight cut to 170 pounds was too much for him and likely accounts
for his slow start in the UFC. In 2014, Whittaker made his
middleweight debut and has since compiled a perfect 7-0 record at
185 pounds. Many wondered whether or not his power would translate,
but he answered those questions with knockouts of Clint
Hester and Brad
Tavares. Whittaker stunned Tavares with a left hook set up by a
front kick, a favorite combination of Brazilian icon Wanderlei
Silva. Tavares attempted to recover, but Whittaker swarmed for
the finish and dropped him with another left hook before prompting
the stoppage.
Whittaker’s style carries plenty of intrigue, as he mixes classic boxing techniques with his karate background and philosophies. He keeps his lead hand low like a karateka but turns in his lead shoulder and feet to acquire a “Philly Shell”-like stance. The low lead hand allows his punches to come in at odd angles while being ready to grab an underhook to defend takedowns. Most strikes either come straight at you (rear straights and crosses) or from the side (hooks and head kicks), but very few come from up and down. The low lead hand allows Whittaker’s jab to sneak through the blind upward angle he uses to set up his right straight.
Whittaker tends to be the aggressor inside the cage, but he has shown decent countering ability when he fights aggressive opponents. Although almost anybody could have countered Derek Brunson’s childlike flailing at UFC Fight Night 101, Whittaker proved he could keep his cool under pressure and wait for the perfect moment to counter.
Whittaker finished the fight against Brunson with his patented jab-to-high-kick combo. Think of this as the “Monkey Kick,” as coined by T.J. Dillashaw. Most high kicks are thrown from the hips while keeping the torso upright. The “Monkey Kick” is a rhythm-manipulating strike during which you lean far to the opposite side while throwing it, slightly delaying the speed at which the kick is coming and catching your opponent off-guard.
Whittaker earned a TKO victory with the exact same combination against Ronaldo Souza at UFC on Fox 24. “Jacare” knew the kick was coming after the jab and covered up appropriately. However, since the kick came at a delayed speed, it landed over the top as Souza dropped his guard. Rhythm manipulation is a rare tactic in MMA and used successfully by only a handful of fighters. It can be missed by the naked eye if you are not actively looking for it. Watch for “Monkey Kicks” like these from Whittaker and other rhythm-manipulating strikes, like delayed jabs.
Although known for his striking, Whittaker has an underrated grappling game. In 2015, he struck gold at the Australian National Wrestling Championships and later qualified for Australia’s Commonwealth Games. The most important aspect of his MMA grappling is his stellar takedown defense. In their first encounter at UFC 213, Whittaker defended 14 of 18 takedown attempts from Romero, an Olympic silver medalist who is regarded as one of the most skilled wrestlers in UFC history. Although the low lead hand is ideal for grabbing underhooks, Whittaker usually elects to grab an overhook on the outside shoulder and turn sideways to either slip out his leg or hit a whizzer to defend takedowns.
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