Midnight Mania! Robert Whittaker denies welterweight rumors and more open to move to 205lbs

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Robert Whittaker’s second fight against Israel Adesanya was both encouraging and devastating. On the one hand, Whittaker lost in the first fight, and he was only one round away from winning the rematch. At the same time, he is now 0-2 against the defending champion, which means that a third fight against Stylebender will be hard to earn.

What’s the way forward for The Reaper?

Whittaker mentioned playing at light heavyweight as well as returning to action in the summer. However, Whittaker mentioned an earlier-than-expected return and “skinny Rob” on Twitter, sparking a whole bunch of speculation from fans and pundits about a theoretical return to welterweight.

Whittaker didn’t fight at 170 pounds. since June 2014. Although he was a fairly successful welterweight fighter, his career really took off after he jumped in the weight class, so the thought of anyone wanting him to drop down again is quite puzzling. Luckily, Whittaker showed up on The MMA Hour to clear things up.

“Mate, this got unexpected and unintentional attention because it just got out of control,” Whittaker began, explaining the tweet (via MMAFighting). “I consider Rob from the camp – that is, Rob who is in the camp, Rob who goes to bed very happily every night – Skinny Rob. Do you know? That’s why in a lot of my posts earlier I’ve been like, “OK, Skinny Rob is on the shelf for a while,” etc., etc. But everyone was saying, “He’s going back to 170! Look how skinny he is!

“People don’t realize how hard I walk,” Whittaker added. “So I’ll go around 215 [pounds], 220 in life. It’s just my live weight.”

Whittaker also hinted at his next fight. While he did not confirm the match in any way, it actually looked like Whittaker would be back against Marvin Vettori in June. This is a fight that makes a lot of sense and definitely brings the winner closer to the rubber match with Adesanya.

Despite his middleweight goals, Whittaker left the door open for a 205-pound throw or two. Admittedly, he’s not overly enthusiastic about the idea, but perhaps the right suggestion could make it a reality.

“I considered this option because it is definitely an upside option, not a downside option,” Whittaker said. “And I thought about it. But the only thing I feel is that I’m so good at middleweight. I have a good cut. My strength vs. cardio vs. speed is just right. I feel like I’m going to lose some of that if I go up to 205, so it might be – I don’t know, I think I’ll try to just make my way to the title shot here one more time. and then play with that idea.”

Insomnia

BRYCE MITCHELL HOT FIRE!

Another hip hop related tweet that is proof that HUSTLE DOES NOT STOP!

Grappling Leg Sweep Attack:

We can always count on Diego Sanchez to come up with quote-worthy moments. YES!

This type of mobility training is harder than it looks.

I sincerely would like to see Islam Makhachev deal with a fighter like Colby Covington or even Gregor Gillespie at lightweight. Pure wrestler on wrestling violence!

Slips, breaks and knockout clips

I already posted this clip, but it deserves to be watched again. Look at that left hook!

Another nasty left hook for good measure.

It’s an unusual position to end a Darcet choke, but it reminds me of Charles Oliveira’s defense-jumping strategy to squeeze the anaconda.

random earth

This old ship is doing remarkably well, having sat on the ocean floor for over 100 years.

Midnight Music: Classic Rock, 1975

Sleep well, maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.