Preview: Whittaker vs. Vettori
Robert
Whittaker has drifted into a state of limbo in an
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division he once
ruled.
The former 185-pound champion will do battle with
Marvin
Vettori in the
UFC Fight Night 209 co-headliner on Saturday at Accor Arena in
Paris, where the risks appear to outweigh the potential rewards for
both men. Whittaker has posted 12 victories across his past 14
outings. However, he finds himself on the rebound following a
unanimous decision loss to
Israel
Adesanya in a UFC 271 rematch that saw him fail to reclaim the
middleweight crown on Feb. 12. Vettori, meanwhile, has won six of
his last seven bouts. The
Kings MMA rep has not competed since he laid claim to a
unanimous verdict over
Paulo Costa
in the UFC Fight Night 196 main event on Oct. 23.
As Whittaker and Vettori inch ever closer to their confrontation in
France, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to
this point:
31: Years of age for Whittaker, who was born on Dec. 20, 1990 in
Otahuhu, Australia.
9: Whittaker wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for
39% of his career total (23). His list of UFC victims:
Ronaldo
Souza,
Derek
Brunson,
Brad
Tavares,
Clint
Hester and
Colton
Smith. Whittaker owns five other wins by submission (22%) and
nine more by decision (39%).
44: Seconds needed for Whittaker to punch out Tavares at UFC Fight
Night 65 on May 10, 2015. More than seven years later, it remains
his fastest finish to date.
59: Rounds completed by Whittaker as a professional mixed martial
artist. He has gone the distance on 12 different occasions and
carries a 9-3 record in those bouts.
93: Combined victories between the five men—Adesanya (twice),
Stephen
Thompson,
Court McGee,
Jesse
Juarez and
Hoon Kim—who
have defeated Whittaker. They sport a .669 cumulative winning
percentage at 93-43-3.
28: Years of age for Vettori, who was born in Trento, Italy, on
Sept. 20, 1993.
9: Vettori victories by submission, accounting for 50% of his
career total (18). His methods of choice: four rear-naked chokes,
three guillotine chokes, one triangle choke and one toe hold.
Vettori holds two other victories by knockout or technical knockout
(11%) and seven more by decision (39%).
11: First-round finishes on the Vettori resume, with two of them
having unfolded inside the Octagon. He took care of
Alberto
Emiliano Pereira with a guillotine choke in 4:30 at UFC 202 on
Aug. 20, 2016 and put away
Karl
Roberson with a rear-naked choke in 4:17 at UFC on ESPN 10 in
June 2020.
6: Promotions in which Vettori has plied his mixed martial arts
trade. He has gone 8-3-1 in the UFC, 5-0 in Venator Fighting
Championship, 2-1 in Ultimate Challenge MMA, 2-0 in Impera Fighting
Championship, 1-0 in Only Men Stuff and 0-1 in New Generation
Tournament.
.842: Cumulative winning percentage between the four men—Adesanya
(twice),
Antonio
Carlos Jr.,
Bill
Beaumont and
Alessandro
Grandis—who have beaten Vettori. They boast a combined record
of 48-8-1.