Robert Whittaker’s personal decision could make the difference at UFC 329: ‘I’m having fun with it now’

Robert Whittaker will start a brand new chapter in his profession on Saturday night.

The previous middleweight champion will return within the featured prelim at UFC 329, making his light heavyweight debut.

Whittaker is ready to fight Nikita Krylov, a veteran contender at 205 kilos who currently occupies the No. 12 spot within the divisional rankings chosen by the media but is absent from the brand new Meta AI list.

Within the lead-up to the International Fight Week card, weight just isn’t the one thing that the Australian fan favorite has modified in pursuit of a return to winning ways.

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The previous UFC middleweight champion will now compete 35 kilos above the burden he began his UFC profession at 🤯

Robert Whittaker has brought his whole family to observe his fight for the primary time at UFC 329

Whittaker spent a few years attempting to regain the UFC middleweight title following his 2019 loss against Israel Adesanya.

That pursuit got here to an end in the summertime of 2025, when ‘The Reaper’ suffered a second consecutive defeat at 185 kilos.

After Whittaker was brutally submitted by Khamzat Chimaev, he suffered a narrow decision defeat to Reinier de Ridder. Each fights got here in Abu Dhabi, with the ex-champ’s wife and 6 children remaining in Australia.

That has modified for UFC 329, with Whittaker identifying their absence as a key think about his lack of enjoyment during his most up-to-date fight weeks.

“Everybody knows what it’s wish to do something they don’t enjoy,” Whittaker said during a UFC.com interview with E. Spencer Kyte.

“Everybody drags their feet to their next shift, the subsequent thing they need to do, and I just haven’t had to try this this time, so you’ll be able to imagine how different that feels. I’ve been having fun with it.

“My family has been an element of all of it; I’m happier,” he continued. “Recently, once I’ve been away, I just keep specializing in once I can get back to them, once I can go do things with them… Fighting is just too demanding to be serious about the after, so as a substitute of longing to go home, being homesick, missing the tribe, I brought them to me.

“I’m not missing the tribe. I’m having fun with the experience, I’m having fun with fight week. I’m having fun with it now, and I’m gonna enjoy it after as well.”

While Whittaker seeks to snap his two-fight losing skid, Krylov achieved that feat in his last fight.

The 34-year-old contender knocked out Modestas Bukauskas with just three seconds remaining at UFC 324, a result that got here after consecutive stoppage losses to Dominick Reyes and Bogdan Guskov.