UFC Saudi Arabia: yeah Whittaker won, but here is why you shouldn't get too excited

Whittaker didn't waste any time after his 1st round KO of Ikram Aliskerov before he started talking about how he "deserves this and deserves that" it was an impressive KO but something important to keep in mind is that Aliskerov wasn't even supposed to be in this fight until a dozen days ago or so. I am not trying to put shade on Robert Whittaker's performance because it was really good, but at the same time, smashing a guy that had less than 2 weeks to prepare is NOT the same thing as winning against Khamzat Chimaev, who was who he was meant to face in the first place.

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I realize that Whittaker should use this glory as much as possible to try to get the best fights he can in the future and perhaps his enthusiasm got the best of him but for me, I find it rather uncouth to take the defeat of a relative nobody who signed up on short notice, as some sort of indication that you are meant to have the belt around your waist.

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A KO is a KO and that's great. But who did you KO? Did you KO a guy that is known for avoiding punches like Chimaev, who will not only block you but use your momentum to wrap you up and regret that you ever threw that punch or kick in the first place? Or did you KO a guy that has faced very little in the way of top-form competition that took the fight with very little notice.

I speak about this with some degree of experience not just as a long-term fan, but as someone that was involved in amateur and semi-professional fights in my life. The training camps for us, even at such a low level, was extremely intense in the time leading up to a fight that we had months to prepare for. By the end of that grueling camp and getting out there to fight, you are in the best shape of your life. This is something that really can't be achieved in 2 weeks and this is why if you look back on almost all last-minute additions to any fight at a top level, the replacement guy more often than not, get's his clock cleaned.

Now I can understand why Robert Whittaker wants to talk as much trash as he can right now while the focus is still on him because IMO he is dangerously close to being turned into an "up and comer' workhorse" rather than really being part of the championship picture. Dana White is notorious for doing this with older fighters who have made a name for themselves over the years but just aren't quite good enough to get the top prize. Hell, Dana does it with ex-champions who cannot reclaim that glory. He uses them as stepping stones to promote newer, younger talent.

He aint exactly ready to get sent out to pasture at 33 but unless you are Conor McGregor or Jon Jones, if you are past 30 and have been around for a while and still haven't been a real contender for a belt and also don't have much charm on the microphone, Dana is probably looking into the horizon for a replacement. Whittaker is currently ranked number 3 in middleweight so I might be jumping the gun on this one. I just know that Dana looks out for the industry first and he would probably rather have some new younger up and comer in his place.

This will become more evident if Whittaker actually does get his wish to face Du Plessis in a title bout and loses.

I dunno. I am happy for the guy but was a bit annoyed at his over-celebration over a last-minute guy that I have heard very little about before he was introduced as a replacement of Chimaev.