Robert Whittaker is a New Zealand-born Australian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He was a contestant on the first series of FX’s The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, during which he won the welterweight tournament. He become the undisputed UFC Middleweight champion in 2017, and as of January 2023 he has been named #14 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings and #2 in the UFC middleweight rankings.

Whittaker is of Māori and Samoan descent on his mother’s side and Australian descent on his father’s side. At the age of seven, Whittaker moved to Australia with his family, where his father enrolled him and his brother in a Goju-ryu Karate school. He trained in the discipline for over eight years and earned his black belt. Later, Whittaker switched to a Hapkido gym run by Henry Perez, who eventually transformed it into an MMA gym. Whittaker signed with Australia’s Xtreme Fighting Championships in 2008 and made his professional debut in early 2009. From 2009 to 2011, he continued his career with the Cage Fighting Championships, where he went 6-0 with a notable win over fellow TUF: Smashes cast member Ben Alloway. His illustrious UFC career commenced in 2012, when he moved to the middleweight division and became interim middleweight champion after winning the title at UFC 213. He has been victorious over such big names as Yoel Romero, Darren Till and Kelvin Gastelum.

Boasting a professional record of 24 wins and just 6 losses as of the end of 2022, Whittaker is one of the finest fighters around, and takes immense pride in representing his home nation of Australia. Outside of UFC, he relishes holding youth clinics in his spare time at his spare gym, and takes his responsibility of being a role model very seriously. A clear fan favorite, Whittaker has well over a million devoted followers on his Instagram profile.