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Dan Hardy has suggested that Robert Whittaker is more than capable of dealing with Marvin Vettori’s relentless pressure and high-volume striking. In a fight breakdown video posted to his YouTube channel, Hardy highlighted that ‘The Italian Dream’ mustn’t underestimate Whittaker’s grappling.
Hardy indicated that Vettori is the more accomplished MMA grappler of the two. Regardless, he opined that Whittaker has consistently improved his grappling prowess and is skilled enough to take down an elite grappler like Vettori.
He pointed out that former UFC middleweight champion Whittaker is the more powerful and better overall striker and that 'The Reaper' could use his signature head kick to hurt Vettori.
He noted that Robert Whittaker can counter Marvin Vettori’s constant forward pressure by utilizing his grappling skills. He feels the New Zealand-born Australian fighter can change levels and take Vettori down to discourage him from recklessly moving forward.
Speaking of recklessness, he claimed that Vettori often tends to get reckless with his strikes, which could work in Whittaker’s favor. Insinuating that it’s Vettori who’ll have to showcase a different version of himself to beat the slick and elusive Whittaker, Hardy stated:
“I think Whittaker is going to be able to keep Vettori on the end of his strikes or at least clinch him and smother him. He’s not going to play the Vettori game, and stand there, and trade punches. It’s gonna be Vettori that has to switch things up, I think, in this one. But this might be the outstanding performance of Vettori’s game. And it’s going to need to be for beating Rob Whittaker.”
Watch Hardy discuss the topic at 8:05 in the video below:
Michael Bisping lauds Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori for agreeing to fight each other
The No. 1-ranked UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker is scheduled to fight the No. 2-ranked Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris on September 3rd. Intriguingly, Whittaker and Vettori have faced reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya twice each and lost to him.
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping recently touched upon this and praised Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori for agreeing to fight one another. ‘The Count’ is of the view that until Adesanya holds the middleweight belt, neither Whittaker nor Vettori are likely to get a third shot at ‘Izzy’ and the championship anytime soon.
On the Believe You Me podcast, Michael Bisping emphasized that Whittaker and Vettori – who are risky matchups for each other – must be lauded for their willingness to keep fighting the best. Bisping said:
“Both of them have lost to Israel Adesanya twice. So, the reality here is that, regardless of whoever wins, you're not getting a third fight with Izzy just yet.”
Watch Bisping’s assessment below:
