FIGHT PATH: Who’s next for Robert Whiteford
Robert Whiteford, Scotland’s first, and most tenured, UFC fighter, is coming off a star making performance at UFC Glasgow where he knocked out Irishman Paul Redmond and electrified his hometown crowd. Since then, speculation has been rife about who Rob will fight next; here, we take a look at 4 realistic options for “The Hammer’s” next fight inside the UFC octagon.
Sam Sicilia (15-5, 5-4 UFC)
Undoubtedly my top choice for Rob’s next fight is American Brawler Sam Sicilia. Whiteford makes it quite clear he wants his fights to be stand up encounters, and with over half of his wins coming by way of KO/TKO and a fighting style/mindset very similar to Rob’s, Sicilia would presumably be happy to oblige Rob’s wishes.
Both guys swing for the fences with most of their shots. Both guys make it pretty clear they aren’t interested in grappling. Both guys struggled at the very start of their UFC careers but are now both starting to get some momentum and riding two fight winning streaks. Both are in a similar place in the division rankings wise – both either in or just on the cusp of the UFC top 30 and as well as being a great fight for the fans, this is a fight that both of them would fancy their chances of using to catapult them to a 3 fight winning streak inside the Octagon.
Makwan Amirkhani (12-2, 2-0 UFC)
A brash, confident featherweight with 2 wins in the UFC, known for an exciting fighting style where he always chases the finish. Hailing from a small country, which has never had much representation in the UFC, and fighting every fight with the hopes and expectations of a nation on his shoulders. Sound familiar?
“Mr Finland” Amirkhani has exploded onto the UFC scene with 2 ultra quick first round stoppages in his two UFC fights so far. Rob would represent Makwan’s toughest test in the UFC so far and would be an appropriate step up for the Finn. Makwan would also be a step up from Rob’s two victories and a win for either of the two European featherweights would represent the biggest victory of their career. This would surely be an exciting fight, and have a great relevance within the European Featherweight rankings, which Conor McGregor aside, are wide open and the #2 spot is just waiting to be claimed. There is no reason this fight couldn’t be on a main card on a European UFC show.
#15 Dennis Siver (22-11, 11-8 UFC)
It would be remiss to write an article about Rob’s next fight without mentioning the individual that Rob has actively been pursuing. Whiteford and Siver have been booked to fight before at UFC Fight Night 53 but unfortunately Rob pulled out of the fight with an injury. Since then, things have changed dramatically; Rob is now on a two fight winning streak and Siver is on a two fight losing streak.
Whilst I can understand why Rob is pursuing the fight, (Siver appears to be the quickest path to the top as the weakest of all the “ranked” fighters in the UFC) the issue is that Whiteford isn’t the only one who has spotted this opportunity. Quite a lot of fighters, with bigger names and more experience, are campaigning for Siver as their next dance partner, thinking the same thing as Rob might be. I also don’t think the fight does much for Rob now apart from add an over the hill name to his resume – Rob has momentum with a 2 fight winning streak and it doesn’t seem to make much sense fighting someone with a 2 fight losing streak. If Rob wants to fight someone “ranked” then I have another suggestion…
#14 Darren Elkins (18-5, 8-4 UFC)
In Rob’s debut UFC fight, he lost to grinding grappler Jimi Hettes. The fight was on too short a notice to represent Rob’s true ability. However, the fight did leave some question marks on Rob’s ability to deal with a top grappler in the division. Rob has clearly demonstrated his striking nouse in his last two fights, and whilst it is fun to speculate on fights matching Rob with other strikers/conventionally “exciting” fighters, if Rob wants to climb up the rankings in the division, he will have to face another grinder eventually. Elkins is ranked in the official UFC rankings, and this would be an excellent opportunity for Rob to not only answer the “wrestler” question conclusively but also a great opportunity to add a UFC ranked fighter to the win column on his resume. This would be a hard fight for Rob, but certainly a winnable one, with his takedown defence I think good enough to force Elkins into a real scrap.
By James Scott
