Fan favourite Rob Whittaker proved he’s still a contender in the UFC’s middleweight division with a clinical first-round knockout victory over Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Saudi Arabia.
The UFC is due to return to Whittaker’s homeland of Australia with UFC 305 in Perth on August 18, a card “The Reaper” wasn’t expected to feature on given his bout at the weekend.
However, the efficient nature of Whittaker’s victory has fans wondering if the popular former champion could fight on home soil for the first time since 2019.
MORE: Whittaker tipping du Plessis to be too tricky for Adesanya
Will Rob Whittaker fight at UFC 305 in Perth?
UFC 305 is set to be headlined by a clash for the middleweight title between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.
Whittaker is on the wrong end of an 0-3 record against the current and former two-time 185-pound champion, but he believes his recent wins over Aliskerov and Paulo Costa are evidence that he’s still a force in the division.
“I’m not saying that if I was on, I would’ve beaten him,” Whittaker said when asked about a possible rematch with du Plessis.
“I’m not going to take that away from him. He turned up on the night and beat me fair and square, and now he’s the world champion.
“He’s a good fighter and he’s good at what he does but I know that I can do better.
“Will I beat him? Maybe he gets his hand raised again but I know I can do better and I know I didn’t put my best foot forward in that fight and I want to run it back because of that.
“Adesanya’s still on that list [too]. My goal… is to live up to my own potential, that’s the only thing I want to achieve.”
Whittaker, alongside another former titleholder in Sean Strickland, are the obvious choices should the UFC want a backup fighter for the main event in Perth.
Initially, Whittaker had all but ruled out the idea of fighting at UFC 305 but, following his sub-two-minute victory over Aliskerov, admitted he would give it some thought.
“It’s on home soil, I plan to be there one way or another,” he said.
“I do need to go back and talk to my team about it. We’ve got to work on the other guys that are preparing.
“I took this fight on short notice and kind of pushed a lot of things around. Perth, it’s on my home turf, but let me talk to my team.”
UFC boss Dana White said “we’d love to have him” when asked whether the Sydneysider could be called upon as a backup for 305.
Whittaker, now a father of five, said he did have some other commitments to handle when he returned to Australia
“My priority is to get back home and see my family, two weeks is too long,” he said.
“I’m going to go home and I’m going to spend time with my family.
“I told them I’d take them to the Gold Coast so that’s where we have to go.”
UFC 305 fight card
- Dricus du Plessis (c) vs. Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title
- Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes; lightweight
- Casey O'Neill vs. Tereza Bleda; flyweight