Robert Whittaker Almost Had a Different Opponent for UFC Sydney Clash
· Yahoo Sports
Robert Whittaker is scheduled to take on Bogdan Guskov in the co-main event of UFC Sydney on February 7, 2026, at the Afterpay Arena. While reflecting on his move to light heavyweight and his upcoming matchup, the Aussie revealed there may have been some other potential matchups floating around before landing on Guskov.
Robert Whittaker shares more on his UFC Sydney matchup
The former middleweight champion shared his thoughts on his matchup with a hard-hitting 205lbs contender like Guskov, “The game plan is the same: Hit and don’t get hit. It’s going to be fun. Props to Bogdan. There were other names thrown in the hat.” Whittaker shared on his podcast.
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Whittaker also revealed the reason why other potential matchups fell through: “Everyone’s either tied up or had excuses, yadda yadda yadda. We got to where we are. Someone took the fight.”
Robert Whittaker respects Bogdan Guskov’s power and willingness to travel to Sydney, saying other opponents were tied up or had excuses. 👀😲
“Props to Bogdan. There were other names thrown in the hat. Everyone was either tied up or had excuses why they couldn’t do it, yada yada. We got to where we are. Someone took the fight, flying all the way to Sydney to do it. It’s going to be great.”
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This begs the question: who could have been the other names that were floating around for a matchup against Whittaker at UFC Sydney? “The Reaper” currently sits at #11 in the Light Heavyweight Meta Rankings and Bogdan holds the #10 spot, so the matchup works out, but it’s possible there were other ranked fighters who were offered the matchup at UFC Sydney to kick off February 2027.
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Whittaker also addressed the rumors of potential matchups, saying, “A lot of those rumors were on the money, but things just fell apart. This fight with Bogdan was only recent.”
For the unversed, Whittaker made his light heavyweight debut at UFC 329, earning a TKO victory over Nikita Krylov, putting him in a position to take on other ranked opponents. However, it seems like matchups for the upcoming Sydney Fight Night card were hard to come by.
Who were the potential matchups for Robert Whittaker at UFC Sydney?
Recent rumors floated around about Whittaker potentially taking on Dominick Reyes, but Reyes just fought at UFC 333, and he took very little damage in his first-round KO over Azamat Murzakanov. Reyes would present a similar stylistic matchup as Guskov, but after UFC 333, it would be a fairly quick turnaround, and Reyes, who is sitting at #4 in the Meta light heavyweight rankings, may be looking to fight up in the rankings.
Another interesting matchup would be #5-ranked light heavyweight Paulo Costa, who has already matched up with Whittaker at Middleweight in 2024. In their last matchup, Whittaker was able to pick apart Costa at range, earning a unanimous decision at UFC 298. Both Costa and Whittaker have looked incredible at 205lbs, so it would be interesting to see how the rematch would look in their new weight classes.
Paulo Costa has voiced his issues with not getting his last contract fight following his win over Muzakanov back in April 2026, and with no fights scheduled since then, it seems like Costa could have been a potential matchup for Whittaker.
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Some other names who could have been potential matchups based on not having an upcoming scheduled fight include #6-ranked Khalil Rountree Jr., #9-ranked Alonzo Menifield, #12-ranked Muhammad Saidov. All these potential matchups are near Whittaker in the rankings and would present very interesting challenges for the veteran Whittaker.
While it is all speculation what names were floating around before the matchup between Whittaker and Guskov was finalized, it is interesting to think about who Whittaker is talking about. However, the Aussie seems to be focused on the upcoming matchup with Guskov, which is his return to the country after 6 years, Meanwhile, the main event is a lightweight contest between Quillan Salkilld and Benoit Saint-Denis.
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