Robert Whittaker's Next Move Is Set

Robert Whittaker is leaving middleweight behind, as he moves up to heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight.

The former UFC champion has reportedly booked his 205-pound debut against Nikita Krylov at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The move ends a run at 185 pounds for the 35-year-old New Zealander, who spent the bulk of his UFC career as one of the division’s defining figures.

Whittaker first entered the organisation at welterweight in 2012 before moving to middleweight, where he posted a 14-5 record across 12 years. The highlight was a unanimous decision over Yoel Romero at UFC 213 to claim the interim belt, a title he was later upgraded to undisputed champion after Romero’s failed drug test.

Two consecutive defeats have accelerated the move. Whittaker was stopped by Khamzat Chimaev and then lost to Reinier de Ridder, leaving him at a crossroads. At light heavyweight, the frame and physicality that made him undersized at 185 may prove to be an advantage.

The Stats

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Standing across from him is Krylov, the Ukrainian returned to competition in 2025 following a two-year absence and was immediately handed back-to-back knockout losses — first to Dominick Reyes, then to Bogdan Guskov. He steadied himself at UFC 324 in January with a finish over Modestas Bukauskas.

A win over a former world champion carries weight regardless of division, and a strong performance could push him back into meaningful contention at 205 pounds. At 34, he has little room to rebuild slowly. The move should not come as a surprise since Whittaker has teased the move for a while.

Whittaker’s Aim

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“I’m going to give it a go. I know a lot of naysayers, a lot of things on the internet saying ‘small this, small that.’ Shut up, dude. I want to give it a go. I’m on the tail end of my career, so like I got to try rather than just thinking about what ifs. I’ve been playing with the idea for a long time. During the break, I was training at a heavier weight.

“I want to lock in and move into this weight division. There’s no doubt in my mind I could make middleweight. I can make it still, I can lose the weight, but I just don’t know if I’m getting the best out of myself, having to cut that weight. The camp performance kind of really suffers on the back end of a weight cut, and a lot of fighters can testify that,” Whittaker said

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