Robert Whittaker Opens Up On Retirement, Light Heavyweight And Life After Fighting

Robert Whittaker has spent most of his adult life preparing for the next fight.

Training camps, weight cuts, travel and competition have shaped not only his career, but the life of his wife and six children. Now, as the former UFC middleweight champion prepares to begin a new chapter at light heavyweight, Whittaker admits he is also thinking seriously about what comes next.

Speaking to Australian MMA from Las Vegas ahead of his light heavyweight debut against Nikita Krylov, Whittaker opened up on retirement, family life, the struggles of cutting to middleweight and the challenge of eventually walking away from fighting altogether.

“This is the tail end of my career,” Whittaker said.

“I want the kids, they’re at a good age to understand what their dad does for work now, I want them to experience the perks of fighting for a global organisation like the UFC.”

For Whittaker, bringing his family to Las Vegas was about more than simply having company during fight week.

After years spent travelling without them and enduring increasingly difficult training camps, he wanted to change the experience.

“I didn’t enjoy the last couple camps,” Whittaker said.

“I thought things needed a freshen up. So I wanted to bring the kids and here we are.”

Robert Whittaker Says Life Is Better At Light Heavyweight

Whittaker’s move to light heavyweight has been one of the biggest changes of his UFC career.

After years of competing at middleweight, where fighters must make 84 kilograms, the Australian is now preparing to compete at 93 kilograms.

The difference, according to Whittaker, has been significant.

“Life is definitely better at light heavyweight,” he said.

“The meals that I’m eating this week are still well and above bigger than what I used to have. The lifestyle in general of the camp now, it’s so much better because this is a more natural weight for me anyway.”

Whittaker said he still walks around at roughly 100 kilograms and needs to bring his weight down before the fight, but the process has been much more manageable.

“This is the easiest to date,” he said.

“I haven’t had to do that much. I can get away with just eating and fuelling my body as much as it needs and then training, which keeps the weight off.”

The move came after several camps where Whittaker began to feel the physical and mental toll of making middleweight.

“The last few camps, I just have not enjoyed them,” Whittaker said.

“The camp starts all right, but then as the food gets leaner and the weeks go by and the weight comes down, I start to feel fragile, start to really gas out and flatline a bit.”

By the final weeks of camp, the combination of dieting, fatigue and being away from home had become difficult.

“These last two weeks, I’m just miserable,” he said.

“My family’s usually not there, so I’m homesick. I’m missing my wife. I’m not eating anything. I have to fight some bloke in a week.”

This time, things are different.

“I’m really happy my family is here. My wife’s here. I don’t want to be anywhere else,” Whittaker said.

“I’m dieting, the diet’s not crazy, the weight’s coming off. I’m able to train even this week and last week at a pretty high level because I’m still eating enough.”

Family Life Has Changed Fight Week For Whittaker

One of the biggest differences has been something simple.

Whittaker can eat dinner with his family.

“I’m able to cook dinner for the family and eat with them,” he said.

“I don’t have to go to a corner and eat my fish and salad by myself.”

The conversation quickly turned into one of the lighter moments of the interview, with Whittaker comparing the image of himself eating fish alone to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.

But behind the joke was a broader point.

After a career built around sacrifice, Whittaker is increasingly conscious of the impact fighting has had on the people around him.

“Fighting MMA, it’s a selfish craft,” he said.

“It’s a craft of sacrifice.”

Whittaker said his wife has been with him since before he entered the UFC, meaning their entire adult lives have been shaped by the demands of professional fighting.

“Our whole lives and everything has just been built around camps, training camps, weight cuts,” he said.

“It’s got to be cool to do something else, before it’s too late.”

Robert Whittaker Says Retirement Has Been Part Of The Plan

Whittaker has not hidden the fact that retirement is getting closer.

While he remains focused on his upcoming fight and his move to light heavyweight, he admitted he does not expect to continue competing for much longer.

“I’ve had this plan for a while,” he said.

“Listen to any of the interviews I’ve been doing for like a year. There’s other stuff I want to do.”

Whittaker stressed that retirement is not his immediate focus.

He has trained hard for his next fight and remains excited to test himself in a new division.

But the long-term picture is clear.

“I’m excited to get there on Saturday and to go out there and test the waters and just try out light heavyweight,” he said.

“But like I said, there’s other things I want to do. There are other things I want to do other than train constantly for a living.”

Whittaker said the daily cycle of training, exhaustion and preparation has dominated his life for years.

Eventually, he wants to experience something different.

Life After Fighting Could Be Whittaker’s Biggest Adjustment

Walking away from MMA is rarely simple.

Whittaker acknowledged that retirement will require a major adjustment after spending so much of his life preparing for competition.

“My entire life for as long as I can remember has been built around camps, fight preps,” he said.

Whittaker explained that even simple habits may become difficult to manage once there is no next fight on the calendar.

“I can eat a lot when I’m not in camp. I can drink alcohol when I’m not in camp. I can enjoy myself,” he said.

“But that’s if there’s no camp, there’s no fight, then I’m always not in camp.”

Whittaker knows he will eventually need to find a new balance.

“I’m going to have to rewire my brain,” he said.

“I’m going to have to address those things. It’ll be a learning curve. I’m sure there’ll be some ups and downs.”

For now, he still expects martial arts to remain part of his life.

Whittaker joked that after a month away from full-time training, he would probably get the urge to grapple again.

But one thing is certain.

A post-UFC move into bare-knuckle boxing is not part of the plan.

“Definitely not. Hell no,” Whittaker said.

“The whole idea of retiring is to not get hit anymore.”

Whittaker Embraces His New Position At Light Heavyweight

Whittaker will also find himself in an unfamiliar position when he makes his light heavyweight debut.

After spending years near the top of UFC cards, he is back on the prelims.

His initial reaction was honest.

“When I first saw it, I was like, oof,” he said.

Whittaker, however, quickly found the positives.

“There’s a lot less work to be done and I get to fight earlier, so I’m not up so late,” he said.

“This is my first light heavyweight debut. I’ve got to earn my stripes in the division.”

Against Nikita Krylov, Whittaker knows he will face a naturally larger opponent.

“He’s a tall guy. He hits hard,” Whittaker said.

“I’m going to have to deal with that. I’m going to have to play it safe, keep distance, create openings, wait for my opportunities and then just believe in myself.”

The goal is simple.

“Put him away, hopefully.”

A New Chapter For Robert Whittaker

Whittaker’s move to light heavyweight is more than a change of division.

It represents a shift in how one of Australia’s greatest fighters approaches the final stage of his career.

He is eating more, training harder later into fight week and spending camp with his family.

He is also thinking about a life that does not revolve around fighting.

For now, though, retirement can wait.

Whittaker still has work to do.

And after years of difficult weight cuts and increasingly draining camps, he appears ready to find out what life at light heavyweight has left to offer.

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