Robert Whittaker is grateful for the respect Shalabdin Magomedov has shown him.
Whittaker and Magomedov each earned “Performance of the Night” bonuses with knockout wins at UFC on ABC 6 on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Whittaker knocked out Ikram Aliskerov, who replaced Khamzat Chimaev in the night’s main event nine days ago, in under two minutes, while Magomedov used impressive striking to score a late knockout victory over Brazilian newcomer Antonio Trocoli, who had competed three days earlier.
Whittaker, who watched Magomedov vs. Trokoli, was impressed with the Dagestan fighter’s performance, but “Bobby Knuckles” noted that Trokoli began to tire after a tough start to the first round.
“Hooray [watch his fight]”… The guy who fought him was tired, very tired,” Whittaker said in his post-fight press conference. “No disparagement to Sharr. I liked the way he used his kicks, the way he stayed focused and danced around on the outside and avoided danger for half the first round. So yeah, I give him credit for that. But the guy who fought him was tired.”
With Magomedov’s growing popularity, Whittaker was asked about the possibility of facing the unbeaten prospect in the future, and while Whittaker isn’t one to shy away from any opponent, he believes Magomedov still has a few steps to take before he’s considered a potential opponent.
“I’m at the top of my weight class. I’ll fight anybody. I’ve fought anybody. There’s no one I haven’t fought,” Whittaker said. “You build your track record, you get your chance, you get there. I’ve never picked an opponent or run away. If our paths cross, they cross.”
Magomedov agreed that a fight with Whittaker would ideally come somewhere further down the line in his career. When Chimaev turned down the Whittaker bout, Magomedov was asked if he would have liked to have had the chance to fight “The Grim Reaper” on short notice. “Bullet” admitted the chance to fight Whittaker would be too good to pass up, but the Dagestan native said he would have preferred a title fight.
And even though Whittaker has tried hard not to develop any fond feelings for potential middleweight opponents, it’s hard not to like Magomedov a little bit in that regard.
“I appreciate the respect he shows me,” Whittaker said. “I’ve started to like him a little bit more now. I try not to like any middleweight because you might have an opponent, but I have a lot of respect for all the middleweights because, honestly, only other middleweights understand what we’re going through and understand the hard work and sacrifice and determination it takes to be successful in the sport. So as much as I don’t try to diss them, they respect me the most. And he’s doing his job. Good win tonight. I wish him the best of luck. And like I said, if our paths ever cross, they will. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.”
