Is Whittaker past prime now?

BowserJr

BowserJr

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His 1st fight was very odd but it looked like he was just emotional with the shit talking Izzy did. After seeing the rematch which could've gone either way I think he proved that was the case.

This loss he seemed tired and slow immediately. He ate power shots from power hitters with 1 shot ko power like Romero and Cannonier but then he gets dropped by a hab from the guy that barely survived Brunson?

This reminds me of Silva getting dropped by Sonnen in their 1st fight
 
He's clearly past his peak, but I'd say his prime is still yet to be determined.

I don't see how you can be at your best with so many children to care for back home. He's a family man now, who's already climbed the mountain and became champ.

He's still elite but he's at the point where 95% don't really progress and either have a gradual or accelerated decline. His suspect chin and point based fighting style will likely not serve him well moving forward, you can only fight these 15-25min fights for so long until you get caught or the wear and tear catches up.

I remember when Yoel rocked him and Rob just toughed it out as he ate bomb after bomb, zero quit. You can't convince me that was the same dude from back then, Rob has overcome far more adversity in the past.
 
Last edited:
BowserJr said:
His 1st fight was very odd but it looked like he was just emotional with the shit talking Izzy did. After seeing the rematch which could've gone either way I think he proved that was the case.

This loss he seemed tired and slow immediately. He ate power shots from power hitters with 1 shot ko power like Romero and Cannonier but then he gets dropped by a hab from the guy that barely survived Brunson?

This reminds me of Silva getting dropped by Sonnen in their 1st fight
Click to expand...

To be fair, he did add the momentum of trying to lunge forward to the jab.
I have to rewatch it, but it seemed the jab wasn't really timed as a counter but just had the luck of throwing that "split of a second" before Whittaker already decided to leap into action of his own.
Result: Run into the opponent's jab that *you* made X% stronger due to going forward.
 
This sub,
Fighter a is the best. Figher b has no chance.
Fighter b wins, Fighter a is out of their prime or was never that good.
Robs prime was not in question when. He was wooping Marvin and all the others besides adesanya
 
Whittaker has been riding his luck for a long time now. It was a matter of time before someone finished him. He is out of his prime, but even in his prime he was getting hit by bombs. The difference between his prime and now is that in his prime he could take those shots, but now he can’t.
 
I think he's on the downward part of a curve now. He rode it up really, really close to the top- within touching distance of the belt. Whether he ever gets another shot at it or not (by some luck or a couple of good match ups), I don't see him quite reaching the same heights anymore.

He's not getting any better at this stage, probably slowly a little slower and a little more chinny. Meanwhile others are getting better or hitting the top parts of their curve like Du Plessis right now.
 
Coming in to this fight, Whittaker was riding high and looking as good as he's ever been.
His performances speak for themselves.

Dricus and his team however, took advantage of a hole they saw in his game. In the post fight interview Dricus points out that they learned from Whittaker vs. Cannonier, that Rob can be susceptible and hurt by the southpaw jab.

That's why Dricus fought in southpaw mostly.
Dricus also has a reach advantage and awkward timing. Whittaker never found his range and tried to rely simply on his incredible speed.

A+ execution foe Du Plessis.
 
Kind of looks like it. The dude went to war with Yoel Romero twice but couldn't take a pedestrian looking right hand this fight. Either his chin is gone or he had a bad concussion or something in training camp before the fight.
 
It'll take another fight to know for sure. He had no business running right into the shot he did.

I suspect that when Rob goes, he'll go quickly. The guy's chin was already below average for elite fighters.
 
Rob is only 32, he's clearly still in his prime. Went 25 min with Izzy last year (the only other person to beat him at MW in 9 yrs)

Does nobody consider that maybe Du Plessis is actually really good. He's 6-0 in the UFC now with 5 finishes. Its a possibility
 
kellier said:
Rob is only 32, he's clearly still in his prime. Went 25 min with Izzy last year (the only other person to beat him at MW in 9 yrs)

Does nobody consider that maybe Du Plessis is actually really good. He's 6-0 in the UFC now with 5 finishes. Its a possibility
Click to expand...

A lot of fighters start declining at that age. It all depends on fight mileage, and all the fights are adding up for Rob.

And the idea that Du Plessis is actually good.. Yes, yes that is a distinct possibility.
 
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