Robert Whittaker Reacts to UFC Sydney Fight Announcement

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Robert Whittaker UFC Sydney
Robert Whittaker UFC Sydney Getty

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker reacted to his UFC Sydney fight announcement for his next bout inside the Octagon.

On Sunday, the UFC officially announced that Whittaker will fight Bogdan Guskov in a light heavyweight bout that co-headlines UFC Sydney on February 6 at Afterpay Arena in Sydney, Australia. The main event of the card is a five-round lightweight bout between rising Australian star Quillan Salkilld and Benoit Saint Denis.

Robert Whittaker Reacts to UFC Sydney Fight

In a social media clip released by the UFC, Whittaker shared his reaction to returning to Sydney, his hometown, where he is fighting for the first time since a TKO win over Clint Hester in November 2014, in what was his middleweight debut at the time.

Now, over 12 years later, he returns to Sydney up 20 lbs as he is now a light heavyweight fighter.

“What’s up, guys? Super excited to announce my fight in Sydney this February. I know I told a lot of people I’m doing everything I can to get there. Well, guess what? It’s happening. I haven’t fought in Sydney for like 10-plus years; my middleweight debut was a long time ago at this point. I cannot wait. I’ll have all my friends, family, and fans there. I’m going to put on a show for you guys. It’s going to be great,” Whittaker said.

Robert Whittaker vs. Bogdan Guskov Early Thoughts

Whittaker is coming off a successful UFC light heavyweight debut when he knocked out Nikita Krylov in the third round of their UFC 329 bout. After spending all of his UFC career before that at middleweight and welterweight, it was interesting to see Whittaker decide to move up a weight class at age 35. But he doesn’t want to cut weight anymore, and who can blame him considering how long the future UFC Hall of Famer has fought.

As for Guskov, the 34-year-old Uzbekistan native is coming off a TKO loss to Magomed Ankalaev in his last fight that snapped a five-fight undefeated streak. But despite that loss, he is a very dangerous fighter whom Whittaker knows he cannot take for granted.

This article was originally published on HEAVY

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