Born: 1990, Auckland

Code: UFC

 

Rob Whittaker is the former UFC Middleweight Champion and is the #1 in the UFC middleweight rankings as of January, 2021. Whittaker is a New Zealand-born Australian athlete. He began competing in Mixed Martial Arts in 2008, singing with Australia’s Extreme Fighting Championships and debuting in 2009. Whittaker went on to compete in the Cage Fighting Championships before making his UFC debut in 2012, succeeding against Brad Scott. In 2017, Whittaker fought for the interim middleweight title against Yoel Romero at UFC 213, winning by unanimous decision and becoming the first Australian and first New Zealand born fighter to hold a UFC title.

 

Awards/Achievements:

Ultimate Fighting Championship

  • UFC Middleweight Championship (one time)
  • Interim UFC Middleweight Championship (one time, first)
  • First Australian UFC champion
  • The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Welterweight Tournament Winner
  • The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Knockout of the Season
  • Fight of the Night (four times) vs. Clint Hester, Derek Brunson, Yoel Romero
  • Performance of the Night (three times) vs. Brad Tavares, Derek Brunson, Ronaldo Souza

Superfight Australia

  • Superfight Australia Welterweight Championship (one time)

MMA Mania.com

  • UFC/MMA ‘Fighter of the Year’ 2017 – Top 5 List #2

Sherdog

  • 2017 Fighter of the Year

MMA DNA.nl

  • 2017 Fighter of the Year
  • 2018 Fight of the Year

BJPENN.COM

  • Scrap of the Month for June 2018

World MMA Awards

  • 2017 International Fighter of the Year