Australian knockout merchant Robert Whittaker extended his winning streak to six-straight in Melbourne on Sunday, finishing American wrestler Derek Brunson in under a round.
After a hit-or-miss event filled with a record-tying 10 decisions at Rod Laver Arena, the knockout starved Aussie crowd was craving a stoppage.
Whittaker delivered.
Brunson, the betting favourite with the bookies, abandoned his wrestling-heavy approach early in the bout, engaging in a wild stand-up battle with the Aussie slugger.
“I came out here and fought with no game plan, like a chump tonight,” Brunson said at the post-fight press conference, reflecting on the loss that snapped his six-fight winning streak that dated back to 2014.
The 32-year-old North Carolina native played right into the local favourites hands, giving a rampaging Whittaker opportunities to land power shots early and often. Whittaker eventually floored Brunson with a head kick and finished the fight with a torrent of grounded strikes.
Whittaker, who was previously ranked seventh at 185-pounds, has passed every test with flying colours since he began swimming in the shark-infested middleweight waters two years ago.
“I’ve made the whole middleweight division notice me a little bit.” a battered-and-bruised Whittaker told the press after the fight. “I think they understand I’m for real and I’m here to stay. This is my run.”
Whittaker’s “run” is already impressive, but the only thing missing from his resume is a true marquee name. Taking on fellow contenders like Brunson, Rafael Natal, and Uriah Hall has earned the 25-year-old the respect of his peers but without a win over a big-name opponent the Aussie is still flying under the radar.
“I just want to move up,” he said. “I want to take these hard fights, and fight these tough dudes and eventually fight for the belt. If I’m healthy and I’m ready, I’ll fight anywhere, any time.”
Whittaker, who will welcome his second child into the world in less than three weeks, plans to fill his schedule with little more than family time in the immediate future but aims to start his 2017 campaign with a bang, possibly against surging Dutch contender Gegard Mousasi.
“He’s a top athlete, he’s a top fighter, and he’s a cool dude,” he said, “If that’s a fight the UFC wants, that’s a fight they’ll get.”
The Sydney born-and-bred fighter detailed at the presser that he hopes to someday capture the ultimate prize for his spoils of war, a UFC championship. That prize currently belongs to Michael Bisping, a man he was once scheduled to face.
Bisping versus Whittaker was pencilled in to be one of the top-billed fights for last year’s UFC 193 event at Etihad Stadium, but an injury to the tough-as-nails Brit scrapped that bout.
Whittaker refused to call out the champ during Sunday’s press junket but made it clear that he welcomes a fight with ‘The Count’.
Whether it’s against Bisping, Mousasi, or any other elite contender, it’s clear that Whittaker has earned a shot at one of the big dogs after Sunday’s outstanding performance.
Local boxing hero Danny Green is one of the many Australians that consider Whittaker the best fighter from Down Under.
“On the world stage representing Australia, Rob Whittaker would have to be our number one fighter,’’ Green told The Daily Telegraph.
“In fact, he’d have to be one of the top, if not the top fighter across every combat discipline.”
Green could be right. All Whittaker needs now is a chance to prove it.