Robert Whittaker Hopes to Return By Year’s End After UFC 290 Defeat

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— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) July 11, 2023

It wasn’t the performance Robert Whittaker had hoped for at UFC 290.

The former middleweight champion started well but ultimately fell to Dricus Du Plessis via second-round technical knockout this past Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. As a result, Du Plessis, not Whittaker, is in line to be the next challenger for Israel Adesanya’s middleweight championship.

Whittaker recently reacted to the defeat in a video post on social media.

“Congratulations to Dricus. He showed up to fight, and I didn’t,” Whittaker said. “But that’s the nature of the beast. You can’t have a day off. It is what it is. But I will say that I do believe that challenges and hardships and obstacles that get presented to you that you overcome, make you stronger. Build character, make you a better man and by fact a better athlete, and I will come back stronger from this.”

Prior to Saturday night, the only person to beat Whittaker in the Octagon in 15 bouts since June 2014 was Adesanya. The PMA Super Martial Arts representative hopes to make a relatively quick return to get back into the win column.

“I will come back stronger from this,” Whittaker said. “I’ll come back hopefully by the end of the year. I want to get in the octagon by the end of the year to get in there, close the year on a win, and bring back the ‘Reaper’ you guys all know. But that’s me. I’m gonna enjoy a couple weeks now with my family just resting and recalibrating, recharging the batteries. Then I’ll get back in the gym, get back to work, and come back better than ever. Thanks again, everybody, and stay tuned.”