"I think he's underestimating how good I am, how fast I am, how hard I hit" - Robert Whittaker predicts how upcoming fight with Marvin Vettori is likely to play out

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has suggested that Marvin Vettori might be underestimating him. Whittaker is scheduled to face Vettori in a much-awaited middleweight matchup that’ll serve as the co-main event at UFC Paris on Saturday, September 3rd.

During a media scrum ahead of the highly-anticipated UFC Paris event, Whittaker previewed his upcoming clash against ‘The Italian Dream.’ A journalist notably brought up Vettori’s recent comments wherein the latter claimed that Whittaker won’t be able to grapple with him but would probably try.

They noted that Marvin Vettori believes that grappling isn’t an area of strength for ‘The Reaper.’ Additionally, they asked Robert Whittaker whether he foresees himself grappling with Vettori or if their fight is likely to be all over the place. Whittaker responded by stating:

“He wants to turn it into a dogfight. He wants to turn it into a barroom brawl. That’s his fight style – get up close, push up against the fence, box you up, take you down, wear you out. That’s what he does. I’m very different. I’m in, out. I hit hard. I hit fast. I’m technically better than him, I believe.”

“I think I’m gonna hit him too much. I think I’m gonna be too much for him. I think he’s underestimating how good I am, how fast I am, how hard I hit. And, yeah, you know, I think that’ll come out on Saturday.”

Watch Whittaker discuss the topic at 3:49 in the video below:

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Josh Thomson believes Marvin Vettori’s toughness could help him beat Robert Whittaker

In an edition of the Weighing In podcast, Josh Thomson acknowledged that Robert Whittaker is the faster fighter alongside having tighter stand-up and cleaner combinations than Marvin Vettori. Nevertheless, the former UFC lightweight opined that Vettori’s toughness may help him defeat the formidable Whittaker.

‘The Punk’ claimed that Whittaker isn’t as effective a fighter when he’s moving backward. On that note, he harked back to Vettori’s fight against reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, which transpired in June 2021. The fight witnessed Vettori lose via unanimous decision. However, he did secure some impressive takedowns against ‘Izzy.’

Josh Thomson insinuated that a similar strategy could work better for Marvin Vettori against Robert Whittaker. He believes Vettori must pressure and push Whittaker against the fence to increase his chances of getting the takedown. Thomson said:

“I'm going to say really what it really comes down to is, it's going to come down to the toughness of Vettori if he's gonna get it done. He's got to pressure the takedowns, he's got to grind on him, grind on him, hang on him, make him fight an uncomfortable fight.”

Watch Thomson’s assessment below: