Robert Whittaker reveals interesting reason why he took the fight against "dangerous" Jared Cannonier at UFC 254

Robert Whittaker is going to have his quickest turnaround in years as he is set to take on Jared "The Killa Gorilla" Cannonier at UFC 254 in one of the marquee fights on the card.

Robert Whittaker is coming off an impressive win over Darren Till at Fight Island, where he did enough to secure a unanimous decision victory. He's going to return in just short of three months from his last fight.

While Robert Whittaker was originally supposed to face Jared Cannonier at UFC 248, he pulled out due to personal reasons while Jared Cannonier later revealed that he had a torn pectoral muscle, forcing him to get a surgery done.

In what's fully expected to be a #1 contender's fight, Robert Whittaker will look to take out The Killa Gorilla, who is on a three-fight win streak after emphatic finishes over David Branch, Anderson Silva, and Jack Hermansson.

Robert Whittaker spoke to Meisha Tate on Sirius XM's Fight Nation and after stating that he expects the fight to take place on Fight Island, he explained why he took the fight against Jared Cannonier (H/T The Body Lock MMA):

📽️ "I think I can take this fight to a place that will make him very, very uncomfortable," @robwhittakermma discusses his upcoming fight with Jared Cannonier and explains why he took this bout instead of waiting for a title shot. 👊@RyanMcKinnell @MieshaTate pic.twitter.com/688URzV7AM

— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) August 5, 2020

“My thoughts on him are he’s a dangerous guy, like very dangerous. He’s got knockout power. He’s tough, he’s relentless. He goes forward, just pressures you and beats you up. That’s his whole thing, he’s a real big bully fighter, but he’s resilient to all other angles. You take him down, he gets back up. You try to bang with him, and he out-toughs you, and he’s got heavy leather."

Despite this, Robert Whittaker is confident that he's better than Cannonier and has what it takes to make him "uncomfortable":

“I guess where I stand on the matter, is that I think I’m just better than him across the board, I think I’m better striking, I think I’m faster, I think I can move faster. I think if I wanted to take it to the ground, I can mix that in and make it a terrible night for him. And I am tough enough, and I have the cardio to go the entire distance, to drag it out, to make it a war of attrition with him. I think I can take this fight to a place that will make him very, very uncomfortable.”

Robert Whittaker is done waiting

After spending years of fighting one time a year, Robert Whittaker is ready for a quick turnaround. He said he's "done" having such long periods between his fights.

He also stated that he's healthy and has nothing else planned for October, so it makes perfect sense for him to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 254.

Who has the bigger advantage? Robert Whittaker or Jared Cannonier?