Robert Whittaker says, “That fire lit up once more”

Robert Whittaker is back to chasing the fight. 

The former champion explained last week why he disappeared and withdrew from his UFC 248 bout with Jared Cannonier. Between a series of injuries and illnesses, as well as spending a lot of time away from his family, Whittaker told The Daily Telegraph, “I was completely burnt out.”

After a seven month layoff since losing the UFC middleweight strap to Israel Adesanya in October 2019, Whittaker is rediscovering his passion to compete inside the octagon.

While joining MMA Tonight on SiriusXM Fight Nation, Whittaker told Jimmy Smith about finding his passion for the sport again.

🔊 @robwhittakermma talked to @jimmysmithmma about questioning if he wanted to fight anymore and what led him to his decision to return to the sport. 💪 pic.twitter.com/DIGj7ACgeL

— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) May 8, 2020

“After a few weeks and just relaxing, unwinding, letting my body just do nothing, completely de-load and spend time with my family and stuff, that thing inside me started coming back. That fire lit up once more,” Whittaker said to Smith. 

“I wanted to make myself vulnerable for the thrill of the fight.”

Till next time

Whittaker was scheduled to face Darren Till in UFC’s return to Dublin, Ireland on August 15. The card is in jeopardy though due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Whittaker is taking matters into his own hands, offering a 195 lbs. catchweight bout to the Englishman. After some back-and-forth banter, Till and Whittaker came to agreement on one of Whittaker’s Instagram posts.

“I Darren Till, agree to a catchweight of 95-100kg for august 15th fight night Dublin, and agree that after the fight we go chippn, dippn and drinking in Dublin… signed Darren Till,” Till said.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_lUj5ZHVbK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Whether Robert Whittaker fights Darren Till or someone else, at a catchweight or not, Whittaker is back.

“In this journey and in this process, I found out, no, I love what I do, I just need to change things up,” Whittaker said. “I need to take some time out for me, go on a holiday leave if you will and come back better than ever.”

Connor Northrup

Connor Northrup once covered municipal meetings and promised himself never again. He is now combining his passion for Mixed Martial Arts and reporting all into one.

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