Michael Bisping supports the idea of Robert Whittaker moving up a weight class.
Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC), a former UFC middleweight champion, plans on competing at light heavyweight for his next fight, and is targeting a return in June. He recently revealed that he currently walks around at 235 pounds.
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Considering that Whittaker started out his career at welterweight, 205 pounds appears to be a big jump. However, with the 35-year-old currently on a two-fight losing skid, Bisping thinks it could be a good idea.
“Trying to reinvent himself,” Bisping said of Whittaker on his YouTube channel. “Of course Robert, no shame, lost some fights, and now he’s at a place in his life where he’s not a small guy for the middleweight division. He’s a big middleweight. I talked to him, and he weighs around 220-225 (pounds) when he’s walking around, so it’s crazy to think he used to fight at welterweight.
“He’s going to go from welterweight to middleweight, where he became a champion, and no doubt a future Hall of Famer, and now he’s looking at a career in the light heavyweight division. I’m all for it. If he thinks that the weight cuts were getting a little too difficult, it was taking too much out of him, the entire fight camp becomes about making weight and not focusing on the strategy and the game plan for your opponent, then that’s not a good thing.”
Bisping also sees an opening for Whittaker considering the current state at light heavyweight.
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“Obviously, the light heavyweight division, Carlos Ulberg is the No. 1 contender right now, on an eight-fight win streak,” Bisping said. “We’ve got Alex Pereira as the champion, so that’s a tough shout, but Pereira wants to move up to the heavyweight division, and Dana White seems to be entertaining that idea. The question is, who would Pereira fight (at heavyweight) and where would Robert Whittaker fit in (at light heavyweight)? I think he’d fit in quite nicely.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Bisping all for Robert Whittaker’s light heavyweight move
