08 July, 2017
Whittaker (18-4) has won his last seven and knows it's going to be a case of both heavy hitters imposing their will on the other as he chases Australia's first UFC belt. In fact, he's only the third to get the chance to do so, following Mark Hunt and Elvis Sinosic.
"(Bisping) is in line for the victor (of Whittaker - Romero)", White said. "To be one of the biggest draws on the card is an absolute honour".
The 36-year-old has been threatening a comeback for the bones of two years now.
We can take that with a grain of salt, of course, and it's clear Bisping is holding out to not only get his knee healed up, but also to hang on to that elusive monster payday that comes with fighting St-Pierre in his return bout. The division is finally moving now. "God says love your neighbor as you love yourself". He IS the most intimidating fighter in the UFC today.
"The way I stay focused is only to think about my next fight", Nunes said. It's a career-defining bout for both men, and Whittaker is well aware of the danger he faces against the former Olympic freestyle wrestler. You can't simulate that, you can't prepare for that, it is what it is. "The guy was like 230 pounds and no one wanted to go against him, so I said, 'I'll fight him.' And he pretty much just laid on me". Meanwhile, he's been saying Bisping's next opponent would be the victor of the interim middleweight title bout between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker at UFC 213.
Now, he's more focused on getting past Whittaker, who's proven to be a risky matchup for opponents with aspirations to win gold.
The two will square off for the interim title, meaning the victor will then face brash Englishman Michael Bisping to unify the belts.
"Bobby Knuckles" has been on the absolute tear at middleweight.
"I'm fighting Yoel Romero, that's all I have time for right now", Whittaker said. "Tune in, because one of those (fighters), Yoel Romero or Robert Whittaker, will be joining me on the desk".
"Everything else doesn't matter to me".
Granted, it would be somewhat hard to find a humble pub amid the glitz and glamour of Vegas' slew of casinos. The timing is just bad, because he makes it seem like he's ducking Romero - or maybe Whittaker - which, in a sense, he may be. It would be a fighter like Whittaker.
But what of his own energy levels? "I'm always going in there and I'm always trying to finish my opponent from the moment we touch gloves. These are tough athletes and we really don't think about the wins and losses here as long as we're getting one percent better each day".
"Georges, man up!" Bisping said during an appearance on The MMA Hour. White went on record again to say that St-Pierre would fight the victor of this month's Tyron Woodley vs. Demian Maia bout at UFC 214.
And if he emerges with the title on Saturday night, very few could begrudge him being placed in such high standing.
Four days out from his highly-anticipated co-main event against "the Soldier of God" at UFC 213, the TUF Smashes victor uploaded a photo of himself to Instagram. The author travelled to Las Vegas as a guest of UFC.
