When did Robert Whittaker lose his title?

Robert Whittaker is undoubtedly one of the greatest mixed martial artists to compete in the UFC, where he has also reigned as the middleweight champion of the promotion. Since starting his career in 2009, Whittaker has been a part of 31 professional fights as of February 2024. Over the course of his professional career, he has amassed a record of 24 wins and 7 losses and currently holds the No. 2 spot in the promotion's middleweight division.

Robert Whittaker made his professional debut on March 14, 2009, at XFC 14 against Chris Tallowin. He shut Tallowin's lights off in the first round and secured a dominant TKO victory to put the wheel of his professional career in motion. He has been regularly competing since his debut and is among the top performers in the elite UFC. Whittaker is scheduled to return to the octagon at UFC 298 in a middleweight showdown against Paulo Costa.

Robert Whittaker's middleweight stint

Robert Whittaker made his middleweight debut inside the octagon on November 8, 2014, against Clint Hester and won the bout via a TKO in the second round. Since then, with a seven-win streak, Whittaker competed for the interim UFC middleweight title against Yoel Romero and won the championship by a unanimous decision. He was later promoted to an undisputed champion when the iconic UFC legend, Georges St-Pierre, vacated the middleweight championship in 2017.

Whittaker's first title defense was supposed to be a rematch with Yoel Romero at UFC 225 on June 9, 2018, in Chicago, United States. but the fight took place as a non-title bout as Romero missed weight. Whittaker won the bout via a split decision.

When did Robert Whittaker lose his title?

Robert Whittaker lost his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya on October 6, 2019, at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia. He had his first official title defense matchup against Adesanya and lost the championship via KO at 3:33 in the second round.

Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya 2

After his title loss at UFC 243, Whittaker ran through a few other contenders from the table and, with a four-win streak, competed for his second run at the title. Meanwhile, Adesanya had already defended the middleweight championship three times. At UFC 271 on February 12, 2021, in Houston, Texas, United States, the duo squared off for middleweight gold. Whittaker lost the fight via unanimous decision and failed to recapture the belt from Adesanya in their second meeting.

*Last updated on February 7, 2024.