UFC boss Dana White has not ruled Robert Whittaker out of jumping straight into a title fight if he proves victorious on a stacked UFC 308 Pay-Per-View, describing Sunday’s fight against Khamzat Chimaev as the middleweight division’s “baddest fight you can make right now”.
Should Whittaker go straight into a title blockbuster against South African champ Dricus du Plessis in Sydney next February – as has been suggested – White revealed he will also be cageside to watch.
Speaking with Main Event’s Niko Pajarillo this week, the UFC CEO heaped praise on the enduring Whittaker, who now sits just one win away from another crack at middleweight gold.
UFC 308: TOPURIA VS HOLLOWAY plus Australia’s Rob Whittaker taking on undefeated Khamzat Chimaev | SUN 27 OCT 5AM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
‘It’s a MASSIVE fight for both guys’ | 06:34
Since losing a world title eliminator to DDP last year, Australia’s first UFC champ has rallied to secure impressive wins over both Brazilian star Paulo Costa and rising Russian prospect Ikram Aliskerov.
Currently, American Sean Strickland is understood to be next in a line for a shot at the strap he himself lost in January of this year.
However, there have been suggestions Bobby Knuckles could leapfrog the polarising Las Vegas fighter if he becomes the first man to defeat Chimaev.
White said, if Whittaker wins, he would undeniably deserve a title shot.
He also hailed the longevity of a fighter who, way back in 2012, when Whittaker won an Australian version of The Ultimate Fighter, he tipped for greatness to then fellow company owner Lorenzo Fertitta.
“On his season of The Ultimate Fighter, I literally told Lorenza ‘this guy is going to be a world champion some day’,” White recounted.
“I saw it on that season and (Whittaker) has lived up to all my expectations and hype.
“He’s a great fighter and an even better human being.
“I like him a lot.”
Asked about how tough Chimaev was as an opponent, White continued: “It’s a tough fight for both guys.
“If you look at what Rob has accomplished, who he has fought, this is one of his toughest tests.
“And there’s no doubt about it that this is definitely Khamzat’s toughest test.”
White also took aim at whoever has Chimaev, who recently moved up from welterweight, still at No.13 in the UFC middleweight rankings.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard over in Australia but I’ve been bitching non stop about the rankings,” he grinned.
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“Where they have Khamzat … Khamzat is one of the most dangerous guys, if not the most dangerous guy, in the division.
“So this is a massive fight for Whittaker.
“And it’s a massive fight for Khamzat.
“That’s what makes this so great.”
Great enough for the winner to leapfrog Strickland?
“I don’t know about that,” White replied.
“To talk about jumping guys in the line right now, let’s see how the fight plays out.
“We gotta see how it plays out before we start talking about jumping lines, who would get the next title shot.
“But in this division, this is the baddest fight you could possibly make right now.
“So whoever wins, it’s a good thing for them.”
Elsewhere, White refused to be drawn on reports breakout Australian welterweight Jack Della Maddalena will fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 312 in Sydney next February.
“I don’t know if that fight is happening yet,” he said.
“If it was, we’d announce it.
“I love when you guys do this to me”.
White also heaped praise on former UFC featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, who is in Abu Dhabi this week and gunning to challenge the winner of Sunday’s title headliner between champ Ilia Topuria and challenger Max Holloway.
“It’s funny because we were talking about Topuria, me and my friends this week,” White started.
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“And when you think about (how) you have to give Topuria so much respect for how he beat Volkanovski … (it’s due to) how everyone thinks about Volkanovski.
“He’s one of the greatest of all time.
“What that guy has accomplished in his career, including the fight with Islam (Makhachev) … one of the greatest ever.”
Told Volk had risen up to become a national hero in Australia, White responded: “He is globally too.
“Everybody loves and respects him.
“If you look at everything he’s accomplished, he’s one of the all time greats.”
White also described the explosion of talent emerging from Down Under as “fascinating”.
“But when you think about Australia, some tough people come out of Australia,” the UFC boss grinned.
“And literally everything that can kill you is in that country.
“From spiders, the friggin’ water … everything that can kill you is there.
“So it makes sense.”
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