Robert Whittaker is headed back to the cage.<\/p>\n
The former UFC middleweight champion will return to action opposite Jared Cannonier at UFC 248, which goes down on March 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.<\/p>\n
The bout was announced by the UFC on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
Whittaker has not fought since October, when he succumbed two second-round punches from Israel Adesanya, surrendering the UFC middleweight title in the process. Prior to this, he rattled off two straight decision victories over Yoel Romero. The second of those wins occurred in a non-title fight, while the first earned him the interim middleweight title. He was promote to undisputed champion when the former champ Georges St-Pierre vacated his belt.<\/p>\n
For Whittaker, this March return is right on schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not looking to take a long time off,\u201d Whittaker said on Grange TV shortly after he lost the title.\u00a0\u201cObviously I have to give myself the appropriate amount of rest time for my brain, but I want to get back in there, and I want to just get back to work. If my health is all on point, on check, February, March next year. That\u2019s not out of the ordinary. I think that would be good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople may not know this, but I\u2019ve lost before,\u201d Whittaker added. \u201cI\u2019ve lost before, and I\u2019ve came back better, and that\u2019s exactly what I intend to do. I\u2019m under no illusion that I was unbeatable; everybody can beat everybody on the given day, and I\u2019m just going to lick my wounds, I\u2019m going to get back on the mats on Monday, and I\u2019m just going to start training again and try to just beat the next guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whittaker’s opponent Jared Cannonier, on the other hand, has looked more or less unstoppable since dropping down to middleweight. Since joining the 185-pound division, the former heavyweight has rattled off wins over former two-division World Series of Fighting champ David Branch, the legendary Anderson Silva, and most recently, highly regarded contender Jack Hermansson, who he defeated in the second round.<\/p>\n
Who do you think will win this high-stakes middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier.<\/p>\n