Robert Whittaker goes Super Saiyan in insane UFC 290 training camp, falls just shy of upstaging Australia’s greatest Ironman

In a training camp that could only be described as otherwordly, Robert Whittaker, the former UFC middleweight champion, tapped into his inner Super Saiyan as he prepared for his highly anticipated bout against Dricus du Plessis this weekend at UFC 290. Fox Sports Australia followed the Aussie fighter's training exploits leading up to the fight, where 'The Reaper' was seen outworking players from the National Rugby League (NRL) in their toughest fitness program - falling short of 'upstaging' the nation's greatest strongman.

A win for 'Bobby Knuckles' could mean a title shot and a third fight against arguably his greatest foe in the organization, i.e., Israel Adesanya. Whittaker's performance coach Justin Lang - who happens to be the son of 2003 NRL premiership coach John Lang - claimed that 'The Reaper' bested NRL athletes at the famed Wanda sand dunes work out.

Usually, NRL athletes are able to top out at climbing seven sandhills. Robert Whittaker took on sandhill running early on in camp, and completed 20 by the time his camp was over, according to his performance coach Justin Lang.

Robert Whittaker running up a sandhill [Image courtesy: www.dailytelegraph.com.au]

Lang said the following about Whittaker taking on Wanda sandhills:

"I was going out there and just asked Rob if he wanted to come along with me. I don’t think he’d run Wanda for about a year but he just says ‘ah, righto', then does 20 hills. I remember going with him thinking, ‘f***ing hell’ You take footballers out there, they go good for seven hills then absolutely hit the wall - are gassed. But Rob’s cardio is elite."

According to coach Justin Lang (via Fox Sports Australia), Whittaker bested all athletes on the Concept 2 bike's three time trial, except Australia's strongest man Craig Alexander.

Now, while his quest for supremacy fell just shy of that ultimate accolade, Whittaker's extraordinary training camp defied all expectations and showcased a fighter on the verge of reaching new heights in the octagon.

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"Beating Robert Whittaker is not going to be easy" - Alexander Volkanovski on Whittaker vs. du Plessis

On his YouTube channel, Alexander Volkanovski gave his picks on who he thinks would emerge as the winners at this weekend's fight card, i.e., UFC 290. When it came to Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus du Plessis, 'The Great' picked his Aussie counterpart to win the fight.

Here's what Alexander Volkanovski said:

"Beating Robert Whittaker is not going to be easy for him [Dricus du Plessis]. Again, he could be a great fighter but Robert Whittaker is just too well rounded, he's too good everywhere. And his skillset is going to be too much [for du Plessis]. So, you'd be mad to think that Dricus can get it done."

Skip to 4:25 for Volkanovski on Whittaker vs. du Plessis:

Alexander Volkanovski will headlined UFC 290 where he will face off against interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez, in the Aussie's fifth title defense. The co-main event will be headlined by a flyweight title fight between champion Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja.