Robert Whittaker (fighter)
| Robert Whittaker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Robert John Whittaker 20 December 1990 Middlemore, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) |
| Division |
Middleweight Welterweight |
| Reach | 73.5 in (187 cm) |
| Style | Hapkido, GJJ, BJJ, Wrestling, Boxing, |
| Fighting out of | Menai, New South Wales, Australia |
| Team |
PMA Super Martial Arts Also training via: Gracie Jiu Jitsu/Wrestling Smeaton Grange - /Stand-Strong-Boxing |
| Rank | Black belt in Hapkido Black belt in Karate Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 21 |
| Wins | 17 |
| By knockout | 8 |
| By submission | 5 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Losses | 4 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Robert John Whittaker (born 20 December 1990) is a New Zealand-born Australian professional mixed martial artist of Māori heritage currently competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Whittaker was a contestant on the first installment of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes and won the welterweight tournament. As of April 2016, he is #6 in the official UFC middleweight rankings.
Whittaker's father, Jack Whittaker, was a believer in the values of martial arts so he enrolled Robert in karate at an early age. After training in the discipline for a little over eight years, Robert switched to a Hapkido gym ran by Henry Perez. In 2003 Perez transformed his gym into a MMA gym. Having no other choice, Whittaker began training in MMA and was immediately hooked.
In 2009 Whittaker began competing in MMA as a professional. He signed with Australia's Xtreme Fighting Championships and made his debut 14 March 2009 against fellow pro debutee Chris Tallowin. Whittaker won the fight via TKO in the first round. Whittaker then started his career with Cage Fighting Championships, going 6-0 inside the promotion from 2009 to 2011, with a notable win over fellow TUF: Smashes castmate, Ben Alloway.
On 30 October 2011 Whittaker lost his first fight when he travelled to Cotai, Macau for Legend Fighting Championships 6. Whittaker fought Hoon Kim and lost via submission in the first round. Whittaker bounced from the loss and won two straight before suffering his second loss to Jesse Juarez, bringing his overall record to 9–2.
Whittaker was selected as a cast member for the first installment of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes; which pitted a team eight Australians versus a team of eight men from the United Kingdom.
In his first fight on the show Whittaker fought Luke Newman. Only 19 seconds into the first round Whittaker landed a punch flush on the chin of Newman, knocking him unconscious for several minutes. The win moved him onto the semi-final round. The knockout also earned Whittaker an additional $25,000 for "Knockout of the Season".
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