Robert Whittaker: 'I bring an arsenal that Khamzat Chimaev's not ready for'

When former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker got the call about fighting Khamzat Chimaev in Saudi Arabia in June, he was sitting at home having some family time.  “Bobby Knuckles” quickly accepted the match.  

“I was kind of doing my thing, sitting with the family and I got a message.  I got a text message.  ‘Hey, what do you think about fighting Chimaev, June 22, Saudi Arabia?’  My calendar was free, so I was like yeah.  Why not,” Whittaker told ESPN Australia.

Chimaev is undefeated, but Whittaker believes that he brings a package of skill sets that Chimaev will not be ready for when the two clash at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

“I definitely think the goal, much like all of my other opponents, is just to go out there and fight my fight,” Whittaker said.  “It’s about going out there and push my game plan onto him and see how he adjusts to me because I bring an arsenal of skill sets that he’s not ready for, I believe.”  

“I’m going to go in there and I’m going to fight my fight.  I’m going to fight a stand up fight.  I’m going to see where it goes.  I’m going to drag it out.  It’s a five-round fight.  I’ve been in plenty of those and I’ve got no quit in me, so let’s see how this goes.”  

One area that Whittaker believes that he may have an edge in is conditioning.  It is a five-round fight, and Chimaev has a been known to fade as the fight gets into the later rounds.  Whittaker also has much more experience than “Borz.”    

“I do think the fact that I have experience in 25-minute fights, the fact that I’ve been able to take fights, hard fights, the length of 25 minutes, it’s different.  Anyone that has done it, who’s had a hard fight for the five rounds understands how different it really is and even the prep going into it,” Whittaker explained. 

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“Now, whilst I think I have an advantage with experience and just tenure being able to do that, I expect him, especially because everyone is saying the same (thing).  The story being said across the board is that ‘Khamzat falls off.  Khamzat’s tired.  Khamzat gases.’  We can only assume especially because it’s a five-round fight this fight, we can only assume that he’s doing everything in his power to come in efficiently pace himself and going to be good for the entire 25-minutes,” Whittaker continued.  “I’m expecting a Khamzat that can go 25, but you would think, just on paper, that that’s an advantage on my side.”     

Chimaev has been able to overwhelm some of his past opponents with his wrestling ability and submission prowess.  Five of his 13 wins have come by submission.  Whittaker recognizes that Chimaev is a dangerous grappler, but considers himself well-prepared if the fight goes to the ground.      

“He’s definitely got a sound jiu-jitsu game, but he mixes it really well with his wrestling.  I think what a lot of people aren’t ready for is the mixture of the two, making it really MMA-esque,” Whittaker said.  “While I definitely think he’s dangerous there, I’ve been grappling my entire life.  I am very, very confident in my own skill sets.  Even if it were a pure wrestling-jiu-jitsu format, I would hold my own if not get a W in that way too.”