"There were boys that didn't sleep that night" - Robert Whittaker details bizarre conditions in which UFC fighters fight in Abu Dhabi

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has shed light on what fighters have to go through during a fight event in Abu Dhabi.

In a recent episode of his MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker and co-host Jonny Roses discussed the fighting conditions in the UAE capital.

'The Reaper' revealed that for his fight against Darren Till, he was given a start time of around 3 to 4 AM. Whittaker added that it was hard to acclimatize to the timings there and as a result, several fighters skipped sleeping in order to compete in the late hours of the night.

"There have been fights where I have been going up at midnight. Abu Dhabi was a 3 AM start time for myself and I was the main event. So, there were boys that were like prelims at 1 o'clock. I think I had a 4 o'clock start time. So, there were boys that didn't sleep that night. So, they changed their whole sleeping pattern to just stay through... It was hard to try and acclimatize to that."

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments from the 54:00 mark below:

The 32-year-old has competed in Abu Dhabi on two separate occasions. His first outing was against Till in July 2020. The fight was a razor-close affair that ended in Whittaker taking home the victory via unanimous decision.

Robert Whittaker's second Abu Dhabi fight took place at UFC 254 against Jared Cannonier. 'The Reaper' outclassed his opponent for the majority of the fight and scored a comfortable unanimous decision victory.

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Robert Whittaker gives his prediction for Ilia Topuria vs. Josh Emmett

Ilia Topuria is scheduled to lock horns against Josh Emmett in the main event of the upcoming UFC Fight Night on June 24. The event will be held at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

During the aforementioned podcast, Robert Whittaker shared his thoughts on the fight. 'The Reaper' picked Topuria to emerge victorious, saying that the 26-year-old's undefeated run as well as the age difference between the two fighters (Josh Emmett is 38) could favor the Georgian-Spanish fighter:

"I do feel like this fight is a passing of the torch. I'd love to see Josh Emmett just get in there and go violent mode and do what Josh Emmett does. But like I said, both guys' fight style is quite similar. I think one guy has number of years on the other. I think that's gonna be the deciding factor as well as the roll-on effect, the moral confidence that comes from 13 straight wins... I have Ilia Topuria in this fight."