"This isn’t how I want to finish my career" - Robert Whittaker opens up on 'fear of failing to perform', promises to bounce back to the winning side

Robert Whittaker came unstuck against surging contender Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290, much to the surprise of those who watched. Prior to the bout, 'The Reaper' had only lost twice in the past 10 years, with both defeats coming at the hands of Israel Adesanya.

Many expected Whittaker to dominate Du Plessis, who did not appear as technically sound nor as durable as 'The Reaper'. But the South African put on the best performance of his career and knocked Robert Whittaker out in round two.

The former champion has now reflected on what he desribed as "the worst performance of his career" during a recent episode of the MMArcade Podcast.

Robert Whittaker detailed how the fear of failing to perform the way he had trained to perform contributed to his downfall against Dricus du Plessis. He said this:

"No, no, it’s never fear of my opponent or fear of getting beaten up or fear of getting hurt. It’s fear of failing to perform. It’s fear of going out there and not doing what you trained for the last four months, four hours a day in the gym, seven days a week — and then to go in there and do none of it.

This isn’t how I want to finish my career. This isn’t the feeling I want to experience again. And the only way not to feel like this is to get back into the gym, train like a savage, and get back into the octagon sooner rather than later. Through no fault of my own, the fights have been further apart than I would like. But I aim to change that"

Watch the video below from 3:30:

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Robert Whittaker is ready to "get back to work" following time spent with his family

Robert Whittaker suffered an unexpected defeat to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290 several weeks ago. The South African became the second fighter in the last 10 years to defeat 'The Reaper', after Israel Adesanya, and Du Plessis is now the No.1 ranked middleweight on the roster.

Following Whittaker's defeat, he spent several days in Sydney with his family whilst reflecting on his surprising defeat.

The former champion has now taken to Twitter to declare that he is ready to begin training again, stating that he was "recharged" and eager to get in the gym. He said this:

"Refocused, recharged and roaring to get it back. Have had a great little staycation at Swissotel Sydney which was absolutely amazing whilst exploring and shopping in our home city. Kids didn’t want to leave but it’s time for Dad to get back to work"

See the tweet below: