What is Robert Whittaker’s Net Worth?
Robert Whittaker, a New Zealand-born Australian mixed martial artist, has a net worth of $3 million. He is known for his connection to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he has held the title of UFC Middleweight Champion.
Early Life and Martial Arts Training
Robert Whittaker was born on December 20, 1990 in Auckland, New Zealand. His father is of European descent while his mother is of Maori and Samoan descent. At age seven, his father enrolled him in a Goju-ryu Karate school to develop his self-defense and self-discipline skills. He trained in the sport for eight years before switching to Hapkido at a gym run by Henry Perez. Perez soon transformed the gym into an MMA gym, and Whittaker began training in MMA fighting by default. Despite being a beginner, Whittaker was immediately hooked by the sport and showed significant skill.
Robert Whittaker’s MMA Career Highlights
Robert Whittaker began his professional MMA career in 2008 at the age of 18. He won his first fight against Chris Tallowin via TKO in the first round. He then went on to have a successful career with Cage Fighting Championships, winning six fights from 2009 to 2011 and ending with a record of 9-2.
In 2012, Whittaker joined “The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes” and advanced to the final round, winning against Brad Scott via unanimous decision to become the first winner of the show. He then entered the UFC officially in the welterweight division, but after losing two fights in a row, he decided to move up to the middleweight division. This decision proved to be successful, as he won nine fights in a row, including a win against Rafael Natal, Derek Brunson, and Ronaldo Souza.
In June of 2017, Whittaker won the interim middleweight title against Yoel Romero and became the first Australian and New Zealand born fighter to hold a UFC title. He was promoted to undisputed champion after Georges St-Pierre vacated the title. However, he had to pull out of his title defense in January of 2018 due to a staph infection and again in February of 2019 due to emergency surgery for an abdominal hernia and twisted and collapsed bowel.
Despite these setbacks, Whittaker continued to fight and won against Darren Till and Jared Cannonier in 2020. In April of 2021, he won the Fight of the Night award in a unanimous decision against Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker is also known for his unique fighting style, which is more reminiscent of karate than the typical Muay Thai style of MMA fighters. Outside of UFC, he has also competed in freestyle wrestling tournaments, winning the Australia Cup in 2015 and the Australian National Wrestling Championships gold medal in 2017.
Whittaker’s Personal Life and Philanthropy
Robert Whittaker got engaged to Sofia in 2013 and the couple married in 2014. They have four children together and also have legal guardianship of his younger half-siblings.
Outside of fighting, Whittaker is known for his philanthropy. He holds clinics for youths at his home gym in Australia and visits remote parts of the country to serve Indigenous youth communities.
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