Robert Whittaker Has Mutual Respect With Michael Bisping

Robert Whittaker spoke following his win over Yoel Romero at UFC 213. The highlights are below:

On Michael Bisping: “I haven’t gotten any bad vibes from Michael. He hasn’t done anything crazy to try to get in my face. I think he respects me, as well. He is who he is. And he’s going to do what he’s going to do. And I’m just going to be me. I go into the fight with the same amount of respect for every athlete. And I’m going to be me in that fight. I’m going to be me on the media. Outside the fight, I’m going to be me. I’m going to be me, and he can work with that.”

On his fight with Bisping: “We’re going to touch gloves now; it’s fate. We have to fight now. And when we do, there’s going to be no mercy.”

On whether he is worried that GSP will get to face Bisping first: “At this point in time, I’m pretty sure Bisping and I are fated to fight. We were supposed to fight at another time (at UFC 193), and it’s like snakes and ladders. I had to fight a lot of dudes to get back into that range. But now here I am again. And here we are again. We’re going to fight. What Bisping does, who he fights, that’s his own business. I’m taking everything one fight at a time. I’m worrying about me.”

On his knee injury: “It could’ve had an absolutely pristine knee – and then he stomped it, and then it wasn’t so pristine. If it was good, it wasn’t after that.”

On dealing with the injury mid-fight: “In the first and second rounds it was hard to ignore, because it was fresh. The injury was fresh and it hurt. With the adrenaline running in a fight, for something to hurt, you know it’s injured. But my corners – like I said a hundred times I have the best team in the world. They have me precise answers. They have me the cool, calm and collected focus that I needed. And I drew from that to really get over that hill in this fight.”