The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) middleweight kingpin, Robert Whittaker, is trying to unify the title with a temporary strap hanger Israel Ade Sagna at UFC 243 this Saturday (October 5, 2019) at the Marble Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
For Whittaker, it was disappointing for a few years. At least it can be as disappointing for a world champion as a fighting career. New Zealand natives still couldn't defend the title they won in 2017 because the "fight of the year" worthwhile opposition to Joel Romero was not suitable for the belt because the opponent could not afford the weight. Whittaker seemed official for Kelvin Gastelum and endured the entire battle camp and weight loss just to take it out a few hours before doing “weird” emergency surgery. During the recovery, Whittaker saw his department move to a temporary title, and got every chance to say less junk.
Whittaker can settle on Saturday. First let's take a closer look at his technique.
striking
While karate and boxing are becoming more common, Whittaker is probably the best example. Whittaker, a black belt of karate and aikido, is an excellent range fighter, but it works well inside your hands and pockets.
On the athletic side, Whittaker keeps the light on her feet and bounces like a karateka. He loves to spring with a quick punch, another feature that reveals a traditional martial arts background. But when he pops in the pocket, Whittaker's combination is a combination of experienced boxers. There is no right to that ugly shift left in Australia.
Whittaker is dangerous in his pocket, but most of his work is out of range. The popped Whittaker can pop forward and close the amazing street. Often he does so with b, which is a sign of the boxing experience. Whittaker's b, and hence b int, made him well from the strike, making it very difficult to handle from a distance.
Whittaker's last bout with Romero started twice, showing what Australia likes about the attack. Whittaker is ready to bounce, attack or react, keeping his hands low even in front of dangerous people. When attacking, most of Whittaker's attacks came from the side of his lead. This week's technology highlights will discuss many of the attack options to his left.
The usual setting for Whittaker's hook is to roll along his cross. After Whittaker comes forward at a sudden pace and crosses, he immediately rolls to avoid counter hooks. Whittaker can use his hard left hand as he rides the duck to the right. In the second Romero battle, Whittaker often could not place this rolling hook on the enemy's wide guard, but the habit of ducking after throwing the right saved his jaw several times from Romero's active check hook.
To record Brad Tavares' knockout win a few years ago, Whittaker showed another tricky left ring setting. Whittaker bounces the front kick to the midpoint and is ready to explode by hitting the ball. He immediately popped into the left hook and after the kick caught the opponent still tall. (GIF).
Whittaker kicks his b well and often aims at the opponent's forelimbs. But the signature technique of "Bobby Knuckles" is often the correct high kick set by the cross. (GIF). Whittaker does a great job of varying the timing of the right kick and sometimes mixes a little pause to get a better angle before firing. It's a small detail but it gives you a better chance to land on strike.
Whittaker is often hit outside the usual boxing range, so his opponent must narrow that extra distance. Most fighters do not set up a surprise as well as Whittaker and are usually slow. This is where Whittaker's check hook begins.
Especially when dealing with wrestlers, Whittaker will move the lead hand low to secure an underhook. Definitely a bit dangerous, but check hooks can land in blind spots. (GIF). Perhaps the best example of Whittaker's counter left hook was opposite Derek Brunson, who insisted Whittaker hit his face first. He could have run away for a few minutes, but eventually Whittaker was able to step back and take a solid stance while breaking him. (GIF).
Wrestling
In 2017, Whittaker won the gold medal at the Australian National Wrestling Championships and qualified to represent Australia in international competitions. Until the UFC threatens to remove his title. Prior to his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, Whittaker had no wrestling background to talk about, which made the performance even more impressive.
There is little Whittaker offensive, usually marked double along the fence. Whittaker's left ring is a great punch to raise the opponent's hand, and switching from that punch to a shot is not difficult. Or, if the opponent tracks him recklessly, reactive suppression is an option.
Whittaker used his opponent's spinning skills against Uriah Hall. When Hall tried a wheel kick, Whittaker was so close that he was able to balance off the hole and force the move to the mat.
Whittaker's defense wrestling improvements are amazing. Whittaker has both great ass and great upper bass. For example, see Whittaker defend Romero's foot here. (GIF). Despite the Olympic silver medalist's solid stance, Whittaker leans back, kneels and attempts in the middle. Romero continues to drive with a hybrid body lock / double leg, but Whittaker returns to the fence and breaks Romero's stance through overlock. As a result, Romero lost control of Australia and was able to flee to the center.
Whittaker's range control makes it harder for fighters to set bullets, which is a great help in preventing critical strikes. Romero, however, showed that Whitaker's leap could be time to fall, but Whitaker could hardly hold onto the floor as a result of his rejection of the floor. Whittaker believes in an excellent hand fight to kick the butt and frame, give up his back and keep him safe in such a situation.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt, Whittaker, is hardly aggressive with his back long enough to show his ground skills. But he showed a very clever defensive Jiu-Jitsu.
For example, Romero, if given the opportunity, destroys people with elbows. Whittaker did not allow him and immediately wrapped a double underhook to control his opponent. From there, the Whittaker vine once again closed the legs with posture and strike before going over to the butterfly guard. He could not completely sweep or escape from there, but with Romero's promotion, Whitaker knelt down and fought hands.
Whittaker showed the opposite defense from “Jacare”. Whittaker took a calm position and defended Souza arm 2-1 in order to defend. Souza couldn't use the arm to walk on Whittaker, so he could no longer move towards the rear mount, making the dangerous position worthless.
conclusion
Whittaker is one of the most competitive men today and a great kickboxer who is hard to shoot down. Test Whittaker's tricks and settings against Adesanya's fellow strikers. It's a stylistic challenge unlike recent enemies, but it's also another chance to prove yourself as an elite champion.
Remember that MMAmania.com can apply the entire UFC 243 battle card one round at a time this weekend. Wolf, Prelims online game starts online at 6:30 PM. ET, Balance running low on ESPN 2 at 8 pm. ET, PPV main card start time before 10 pm EST ESPN +.
To see the latest and greatest UFC 243: “Whittaker vs. Check out our comprehensive event archive through “Adesanya” news and notes. Wolf.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt Andrew Richardson is a professional fighter trained in Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. In addition to learning with world-class talent, Andrew scouted his opponents and developed winning strategies for several sports-leading elite fighters.