“He’s not that bad,” Robert Whittaker on ‘HOLISTICALLY ANGRY’ potential opponent Sean Strickland

After UFC 298 victory, Robert Whittaker sets his sights on Sean Strickland, anticipating a professional rivalry free from personal animosity in the middleweight division.

“He’s not that bad,” Robert Whittaker on ‘HOLISTICALLY ANGRY’ potential opponent Sean Strickland

Robert Whittaker on potential opponent Sean Strickland (Image via: IMAGO)

Former champion Robert Whittaker solidified his position as one of the best middleweights at UFC 298. Whittaker defeated Paulo Costa by unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 298. The fight impressed UFC CEO Dana White even though it lost the Fight of the Night honors to Amanda Lemos and Mackenzie Dern. Whittaker has now set his sights on Sean Strickland, another former champion in the division.

Strickland has a penchant for trash-talking his opponents. Whittaker is aware of it, but he stated that he does not think it would happen to him. He spoke of it at the post-fight press conference. This is what he said.

He's not that bad. I don't know, he's kind of holistically angry at everybody; I don't think he singles anyone out unless you do something to him particularly. I find it, I feel like it would be hard for him to get a grip on something I've done, but you know, there's trying.
Robert Whittaker via UFC 298 post-fight presser
YouTube video

At UFC 298, Whittaker was coming off a knockout loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290. In the octagon interview with Joe Rogan, Whittaker expressed interest in a rematch with Du Plessis. However, he set sights on Strickland at the post-fight press conference as it is more realistic.

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Incidentally, Strickland lost the middleweight title to Du Plessis at UFC 297, the previous PPV. However, the fight was very close and many thought Sean Strickland won the fight. The winner of the potential Strickland vs Whittaker bout will most likely earn a title shot in the division.

Robert Whittaker calls Alexander Volkanovski the most dominant featherweight UFC champion

The featherweight division of the UFC has a storied history. All the champions in the division are among the best ever to do MMA. For context, Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, and Conor McGregor were the former champions in the division before Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria.

Robert Whittaker consider Alexander Volkanovski as the most dominant featherweight champion
Alexander Volkanovski fighting Islam Makhachev (Image via X)

Robert Whittaker knows what it feels to lose a UFC title, and he empathized with Volkanovski at the UFC 298 post-fight press conference. Moreover, he also remarked that Volkanovski was the most dominant featherweight champion in the UFC, even though he lost to Topuria via knockout. Volkanovski has 5 title defenses in the division and has victories over Aldo, Holloway, Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega, and The Korean Zombie.

Volkanovski has demanded a rematch in Spain at the post-fight press conference. UFC CEO Dana White had already expressed his interest to hold Topuria’s first title defense in Spain. Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu is the potential venue for the fight.

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