Robert Whittaker finds himself in an unfamiliar spot on the UFC 329 card.
Whittaker (26-9 MMA, 17-7 UFC) makes his light heavyweight debut against Nikita Krylov (31-11 MMA, 12-9 UFC) on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+).
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The former UFC middleweight champion will compete on the night’s featured prelim, according to the latest bout order, missing out on the main card for the first time in 13 years.
“Well, it’s different,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “I haven’t been in a prelim fight for a long time. I don’t know. On paper, intellectually, you look at it, it makes sense-ish. My first move up to 205, coming back after a big layoff. I’m looking forward to getting back in there. Honestly, the silver lining is that I get to get my fight out of the way a little bit earlier.
“I hate those late nights, they kill me a little bit. Honestly, it’s just about getting in there and getting to business. I want to get in there, and I want to execute all of the things that I’ve been working on up until now, I want to feel myself out, I want to feel how the fight feels. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
The last time Whittaker fought on the prelims was when he defeated Colton Smith by TKO at UFC 160.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-champion Robert Whittaker reacts to being on UFC 329 prelims
