{"id":382216,"date":"2021-04-15T09:42:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T16:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=382216"},"modified":"2021-04-15T09:42:55","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T16:42:55","slug":"robert-whittaker-hoping-to-dominate-kelvin-gastelum-but-expects-an-absolute-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/robert-whittaker-hoping-to-dominate-kelvin-gastelum-but-expects-an-absolute-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Whittaker hoping to “dominate” Kelvin Gastelum, but expects “an absolute war”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Whittaker is expecting a tough fight with Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Whittaker and Gastelum are set to headline UFC Vegas 24<\/a> in a very intriguing middleweight bout. Originally, Whittaker was set to face Paulo Costa but a month out, the Brazilian pulled out of the fight and Gastelum stepped in on short notice.<\/p>\n

For Whittaker, he knows the two are very different fighters<\/a> but is glad he had a few weeks to prepare for Gastelum.<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately, I was given a month to (prepare), and I had previously camped for Gastelum, as well,\u201d Whittaker said at media day (via MMAJunkie<\/a>). \u201cBoth things just lead up into my favor with actually accepting the change, but also I\u2019ve had fights recently with southpaws, so it\u2019s not too much of a stretch, too different. Obviously, stylistically Gastelum and Costa are two very different fighters, but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Robert
Image via @robwhittakermma on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not only did Whittaker get a few weeks of training, but the two were supposed to fight in 2019. But, on the day of the fight, the Aussie pulled out of the fight. Since then, “The Reaper” knows he has gotten much better and is excited to show that on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real thing is I\u2019m a very different beast than I was back then,\u201d Whittaker said. \u201cI feel like from a technical point of view, I\u2019m a much more complete athlete. But, as well as the mental game, which only reinforces all of that. It\u2019s just never been better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Robert Whittaker believes he has gotten better, he knows Gastelum has too, so he’s expecting a tough fight. He knows the American is very durable and has a ton of power, so the former champ expects their fight to be a war.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping I can go out and dominate him, but I\u2019m expecting an absolute war,\u201d Whittaker said. \u201cWe\u2019re both very well-rounded. He\u2019s got dangerous power. He can wrestle, grapple. He\u2019s tough as nails. I can do the same. Yeah, I expect the worst, hope for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whittaker enters the fight riding a two-fight winning streak and will likely earn a rematch with Israel Adesanya with a win.<\/p>\n

Do you think Robert Whittaker will beat Kelvin Gastelum?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robert Whittaker is expecting a tough fight with Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday night. Whittaker and Gastelum are set to headline UFC Vegas 24 in a very intriguing middleweight bout. Originally, Whittaker was set to face Paulo Costa but a month out, the Brazilian pulled out of the fight and Gastelum stepped in on short notice. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54463,"featured_media":382217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10397,10582,39610],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRobert Whittaker hoping to "dominate" Kelvin Gastelum, but expects "an absolute war" | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Robert Whittaker is expecting a tough fight with Kelvin Gastelum on Saturday night, but hopes he can dominate him to earn a title shot.\" \/>\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\/robert-whittaker-hoping-to-dominate-kelvin-gastelum-but-expects-an-absolute-war\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Robert Whittaker 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