​LAS VEGAS — Robert Whittaker spoke to the media on Saturday following his victory over Nikita Krylov at UFC 329. The Australian-born fighter, coming into the event with a professional record of 27-9 in mixed martial arts and 18-7 in the UFC, dispatched Krylov in the third round with a technical knockout to cap the preliminary card at T-Mobile Arena. Whittaker made his UFC debut at light heavyweight, leaving behind a long tenure at middleweight that included a run as champion.
“Everything that could go right did go right. I can’t express how good I feel,” Whittaker said during his post-fight news conference. “There were a lot of nerves going into this. Who hasn’t heard the story of a middleweight after two losses moving up to light heavyweight and then sliding into oblivion? I didn’t want to be that guy.”
Now he is left to consider what comes next. The 35-year-old fighter, who halted a two-fight skid with the win over Krylov, didn’t rule out the possibility that he could be in title contention at 205 pounds after this performance.
“I feel like the division is a buffet,” Whittaker explained. “I wanted someone ranked out of the gate. A lot of questions have been answered. There were a lot of doubters out there. There were a lot of people curious about how the transition would look, me moving up. I think I silenced those doubts and made my case clear.”
Whittaker added that winning tends to open doors, and with this victory, those doors appear to be ajar. “I’ve won, and the doors are open. I’m going to go enjoy myself and then get back to training because I don’t want to start from zero again. I began this camp at zero, and that wasn’t fun. I didn’t take too much damage. Maybe by the end of the year we’ll get back in, keep climbing the ladder, and keep progressing.”
Fans can watch Whittaker’s post-fight interview in the accompanying video above. This piece originally appeared on MMA Junkie, with a headline framing Whittaker’s 205-pound debut at UFC 329 as feeling like a continuation of his middleweight days to optimize search visibility.