Whittaker (left) defends title against Rockhold (right) (Photo: Reproduction Twitter ufc_ausnz)
The New Zealander-Australian Robert whittaker will make the first defense of his middleweight belt at UFC 221, on February 11, against Luke Rockhold, former owner of the title. And the two fighters faced each other for the first time in Perth, the Australian city that will host the event. Despite the friendly atmosphere, the two exchanged some provocations, and then used social media to boast, especially the North American, who assured that he will become champion for the second time.
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Whittaker, in turn, limited himself to saying that he sees the duel with Rockhold as very difficult, and hopes to see the best from his opponent. And he assured the Australian people that he will put on a show the first time he defends the title.
“It will be a difficult fight, but we are going there to put on a great show. I'm excited to enter the octagon with the best version of Luke Rockhold and test me. Test my caliber and my skills. I think that’s the goal of any fighter, to test their own limits and find out how far they can go,” commented the champion.
Robert whittaker became interim middleweight champion at UFC 213, when he surprised Yoel romero, dominating the Cuban and winning a unanimous decision. A few days ago, its provisional title became linear with the withdrawal of Georges St Pierre. The Canadian, who had taken the belt from Michael Bisping at UFC 217, he ended up giving up the title due to colitis, an infection in the large intestine, which could even retire him for good.
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