LONDON – Robert Whiteford has struggled to build momentum, but he hopes to change that after Bellator 267.
Whiteford (18-8-1 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) returns from an almost two-year layoff to face Andrew Fisher (18-8-1 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) at Bellator 267, which takes place Friday at the SSE Arena, Wembley, London. The main card airs live on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
The 38-year-old Scot hasn’t competed since his come-from-behind knockout of Sam Sicilia in November 2019 and just when it looked like he was getting his life together after coming out of retirement and battling alcoholism, the global pandemic hit.
And while the lack of fights has hurt his pockets, there was a consolation prize – the birth of his son, Blake.
“Pretty good,” Whiteford told MMA Junkie. “It seems like I took a wee turn in the road, and I felt new. It feels like I’m winning at life again. Really with the world and the pandemic everybody’s been doing, it’s pretty much a nightmare for everyone. If you go in my fighting career, being active and getting to fights, it’s been pretty sh*t. Not being able to fight, not being able to earn money, which is pretty rough. But I had a wee boy during the lockdown, he’s six months old now. So there was a wee bit of light at the end of the tunnel for me, and it’s worked out good. I would say pretty brilliant.”
Despite the inactivity in the past four years, Whiteford has managed to string together a four-fight winning streak and ultimately, that’s all that matters to him.
“It seems every time I get a wee bit of momentum going, I get shut down,” Whiteford said. “Before in the previous organization it was contract issues. This time it was a pandemic around the world. It’s like I can’t get momentum going. It doesn’t stop me winning for some reason. I still pull these out the bag, and I come out with big wins. It’s great getting momentum, but as long as you keep winning, it doesn’t really matter. As long as I go out there and perform and win, I couldn’t care if I fought once a year or once next year. As long as I’m winning, that’s what I can control, and that’s what I plan to do Friday night.”
After a rough two-year layoff, Robert Whiteford ‘winning at life again’ in Bellator 267 return
