Robert Whittaker is notable for his involvement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and was his UFC Middleweight Champion.
Whittaker was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on the 20th of December 1990. He is the son of Australian and European descent, while his mother is of Maori and Samoan descent.
In 2008 the year that Whittaker was just 18, Whittaker began participating in professional MMA, with Henry Perez as his coach.
He was signed by the Australian team Xtreme Fighting Championships and made his debut against Chris Tallowin.
In June 2017, Whittaker was a contender for an interim title in middleweight against Yoel Romero. He won the fight unanimously.
He was one of the very first Australian and New Zealand-born fighters to be awarded a UFC title. .
Whittaker is well-known for his unique style of fighting that is more like Karate than the usual Muay Thai style that is more common among MMA fighters.
Whittaker married his girlfriend, Sofia, in 2013, and the couple married in 2014. They've four children - John, Jack, Jace, and Lilliana.
Whittaker and his spouse have legal guardianship over his younger half-sister and twin brothers, Kerehi and Henry Matafeo.
In his free hours, Whittaker holds clinics for students at his home gymnasium in Australia. He has also visited remote regions of Australia to assist Indigenous youth groups.