{"id":326042,"date":"2019-09-23T07:35:27","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T14:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=326042"},"modified":"2019-09-23T07:35:27","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T14:35:27","slug":"coach-robert-whittaker-is-a-better-version-of-gsp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/coach-robert-whittaker-is-a-better-version-of-gsp\/","title":{"rendered":"Coach: Robert Whittaker is a ‘better version of GSP’"},"content":{"rendered":"

UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker has won his last few fights with his striking, but striking certainly isn’t his only skill. In fact, Whittaker is so well-rounded that his coach Alex Prates considers him a “better version of” Georges St-Pierre.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you\u2019ll see Robert Whittaker using a style that I think is the one that suits him better but he never really needed it because it was always comfortable for him on the feet for most of his fights,\u201d Prates told Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting<\/a>. \u201cWith\u00a0Yoel Romero, for example, it would have been stupid to try to take him down. But Robert has great wrestling and great timing. I honestly think Robert is a better version of GSP. And we might see this now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whittaker is currently gearing up for a title unification fight with interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Given that Adesanya is one of the most experienced and dangerous strikers in MMA at present, it should come as no surprise that Prates would like to see Whittaker use his wrestling skill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that Robert is technically superior on the ground and with his wrestling,” Prates said of Whittaker. “I won\u2019t say Robert\u2019s striking is superior, but it\u2019s definitely on the same level of Adesanya\u2019s. I see many people saying that Adesanya is a better striker and I think that\u2019s really unfair. If Robert hasn\u2019t proved yet that he\u2019s one of the best strikers of the division, I don\u2019t know what else he needs to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main difference of Robert using his wrestling and ground game with Israel is that he doesn\u2019t depend on the ground, if that makes sense. He can take Israel to the ground, but if Israel starts to scramble and gets back up, he doesn\u2019t need to spend energy there. Let him get back up. That\u2019s the difference from a jiu-jitsu fighter or a wrestler that depends on keeping him on the ground. That might get Israel worried about the takedowns as well, which makes it easier to land combinations on the feet. And also get him tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wherever the fight unfolds, Prates assures Robert Whittaker will be well-prepared. In fact, the coach says the UFC middleweight champion is sharper than he’s ever been before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not trying to sell anything here, but he\u2019s more fit than every other fight he\u2019s been to,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s way better technically than he was when he fought Romero, and I\u2019ve never seen him so strong and in such good shape. His conditioning is phenomenal. He won\u2019t get tired in this fight. He\u2019s super confident, and that\u2019s what makes him a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you think Robert Whittaker will beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 243?<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPENN.COM<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 9\/23\/2019.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker has won his last few fights with his striking, but striking certainly isn’t his only skill. In fact, Whittaker is so well-rounded that his coach Alex Prates considers him a “better version of” Georges St-Pierre. \u201cMaybe you\u2019ll see Robert Whittaker using a style that I think is the one that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":319125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10582,39610],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCoach: Robert Whittaker is a 'better version of GSP' | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Coach Alex Prates believes UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is a "better version" of former two-division champ Georges St-Pierre.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/coach-robert-whittaker-is-a-better-version-of-gsp\/\" \/>\n<meta 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