Robert Whittaker knows how he wants to close out his storied career.
“The Reaper” is currently scheduled to fight Reinier de Ridder in the July 26 main event of UFC Abu Dhabi. Whittaker vs. de Ridder is a key matchup in the middleweight division, with Whittaker being a former UFC champion and de Ridder having gone 3-0 since joining the promotion in 2024.
Should Whittaker defeat de Ridder, he’s still likely several fights away from earning a title shot, a fact he’s well aware of. Speaking to FOX Sports Australia, Whittaker laid out his dream retirement scenario.
“Four fights,” Whittaker said. “I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I want four more, that’s me. I see the stepping stones needed to do what I want to do. Four fights gets me into that title shot, gets me into a position to finish on top, to have that fairy tale ending. I’m working towards it.”
Though Whittaker has fallen short against the top of the division in recent years, he’s also stifled a few would-be contenders aiming to make their name off of him. Prior to a loss to Khamzat Chimaev, Whittaker had scored back-to-back victories over Ikram Aliskerov and Paulo Costa, and his 6-3 run includes wins over Marvin Vettori, Kelvin Gastelum, Jared Cannonier, and Darren Till.
Chimaev challenges champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 on Aug. 16 in a matchup of the two fighters to most recently defeat Whittaker. He’s eager to rematch both men, though he knows there’s a growing lineup of contenders to get through first.
“The list is getting too long, now,” Whittaker said with a laugh. “I’m working. Reinier’s in the sights at the moment.”
In the loss to Chimaev, Whittaker suffered a gruesome injury as a Chimaev choke caused his teeth to become displaced in his mouth.
That fight didn’t ended in a matter of minutes and Whittaker isn’t discouraged because he doesn’t feel he had the chance to show what he can still do.
“He was just better than me on the day,” Whittaker said. “I could look to make as many excuses under the sun as I want, but truth is I’ve got the L now, so all you can do really is just throw yourself back in the gym, get back on the horse. Because the fight went the way it was, I’m not disheartened in my own skill set particularly much. I’m not disheartened in my striking ability, my knockout ability, so I go into this fight still with a lot of confidence that I can do what it is that I do. Prior to the Chimaev fight, that I did to Ikram, that I did to Costa, striking’s my game. He’s going to look to try and take me down and I’m not going to let him.”
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