Robert Whittaker has been incredibly active in 2024 having three fights, his highest mark since 2014.
However, despite gaining momentum with two victories to kick off the year over Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov, "The Reaper" will be looking to rebuild after a devastating loss at the hands of undefeated Chechen Khamzat Chimaev.
The loss to Chimaev didn't just halt Whittaker's progress towards the belt, but also sidelined him with a brutal mouth injury.
Whittaker recently appeared on the MMArcade Podcast in which he revealed the extent of the damage that led to surgery. Ultimately, Whittaker believes that we will see him in the octagon again in 2025, once he has fully recovered and booked his next fight.
When will Robert Whittaker return?
The UFC is scheduled to return to Sydney for a pay-per-view event on February 9. Whittaker is unlikely to fight on home soil given the injury, so local fans will have to wait even longer to see "The Reaper" live, a spectacle that hasn't materialised since 2019.
Whittaker's coach, Alex Prates spoke with Sherdog in a recent interview where he proposed a timetable for his pupil's return.
"Our plan is to return to the Octagon in June," said Prates.
Whittaker expressed his support for the plan to return sometime in the second quarter of 2025.
"I’m probably looking to return in June. June-ish? End of May? I don’t know. We’ll play with the dates next year," Whittaker said on the MMArcade Podcast.
Robert Whittaker breaks down style change
Given his success so far in the promotion, it seems hard to fathom Whittaker needing to make many significant changes to his approach.
However, the 33 year old was adamant that an overhaul of his current skillset is necessary to return to the title picture.
"I still have some tricks up my sleeve… I’ve been fighting the same way for about 12 years…The manuscript on how I fight is out there, it’s time to change things up a little. I’m gonna surprise some people," Whittaker explained on the MMArcade Podcast.
Whittaker hasn't lost back-to-back fights since 2014 so reinventing himself ahead of his next bout is a challenge that the former champ is well adept at taking down.
