When Robert Whittaker was matched up against his toughest test to date, he shined.
Riding a six-fight winning streak, Whittaker (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) faced Ronaldo Souza at UFC on FOX 24 in April 2017, where he proved that he was a legitimate contender at 185 pounds.
Souza pressed Whittaker early, while Whittaker stayed light on his feet, moving side-to-side to regain center of the octagon. Souza then stacked Whittaker against the cage, dragging him down to the mat briefly, but Whittaker defended well and broke free. Whittaker continued to pepper Souza with the jab, lunging forward with combinations.
In Round 2, Whittaker dropped Souza with a big right hand but didn’t spend too much time in Souza’s guard, letting him back up. Whittaker continued to stalk Souza, eventually landing a head kick, which stunned “Jacare.” Whittaker was all over him, splitting Souza open with big elbows of the ground-and-pound variety until the referee stopped the fight.
Whittaker went on to beat Yoel Romero twice en route to capturing the UFC middleweight title. However, in his last outing at UFC 243, he lost his title when he was stopped by Israel Adesanya in the second round of their clash.
Whittaker returns Saturday when he meets Darren Till (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 14 headliner at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Before he faces Till, relive Whittaker’s finish over Souza in the video above.
UFC on ESPN 14 free fight: Robert Whittaker makes statement with stoppage win over 'Jacare'
