A former UFC middleweight champion nearing the end of his career wants to move up to light heavyweight before potentially hanging up his gloves.
In a recent interview, the first Australian to win a UFC championship, Robert Whittaker, confirmed that he has decided to move up a weight class and expects to fight in June.
Robert Whittaker’s current form
The Reaper” was on a two-fight win streak in 2024 until he met Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308, where he was submitted with a rare rear-naked choke-cum-face crank by “Borz” in Round 1. Whittaker suffered a dental injury during the Chimaev fight and was therefore sidelined for almost a year.
In 2025, he returned to face rising contender Reinier de Ridder in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, and after a hard-fought five-rounder, lost via split decision.
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker confirms move to light heavyweight
Earlier this year, ‘The Reaper’ had teased a move to the UFC’s 205-pound division, and now he has confirmed the same. Submission radiohe said:
“I’ve been taking a few breaks. I’ve been working on some other stuff, and it’s given me time to really settle in and figure out what I want to do in the future, and buddy, I’m locking in now. I’m looking forward to June. I want to get in there. I want to fight again. I want to fight in June. Uh, 205 most likely… I’m going to give it a try. I know a lot of naysayers, a lot of things on the internet that say, ‘small this,’ small that.” Shut up, dude. The way I want it, I want to try it. I’m at the end of my career, so I have to try instead of just thinking about what if.”
When asked why he considered a move to the UFC’s light heavyweight division, Whittaker added that he has been thinking about it for a long time. Although “The Reaper” is confident he can still make 185 pounds, he believes he will compete more efficiently as he moves up the ranks.
“It’s hard to say. There was never really a nail in the coffin. It was more like I had been playing with the idea for a long time. During the break I was kind of training with a heavier weight. I want to hold on and get to this weight class. And I don’t know, there wasn’t really a final thing because I have no doubt that I could go to middleweight. I can still make it so that I can lose the weight, but I just don’t know. get, you know, I have to cut that weight, I have to like it because camp performance really suffers on the back end of a weight card and a lot of fighters can attest to that.
The Australian added that he will need three to four months to transition, and doesn’t plan to add too much muscle as the extra mass could slow him down.
“I’m joining for June. I want to get in there. I want to throw back down. I’m going to go up to 205. I want to adjust to the weight. I want to perform at the weight. I want to build some muscle, etc., etc. So I want to give myself a good chunk of work, like a good four months to prepare and get there at my best… I’m going to try to put on a little muscle mass, but you’re exactly right. I’m not going to put on too much. Like I’m walking around heavy anyway.
Watch Robert Whittaker’s comments below (3:58):
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