Bleacher Report's No. 9-ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker (16-4) defeated Rafael Natal (21-7-1) by unanimous decision in a stand-up battle at UFC 197 on Saturday.
This marked Whittaker's fifth straight win and his fourth in the middleweight division. It snapped Natal's four-fight win streak.
The bout opened up somewhat slowly as Whittaker and Natal tried to figure each other out. Whittaker came forward as he typically does, but Natal did well to circle away from danger. In the final seconds they began to open up. Whittaker won the round with aggression and by landing a couple of heavy shots before the horn sounded.
Whittaker's accuracy was fantastic early in the second, and Natal’s winging punches were not working against the Australian's crisp response. Natal’s success in the first two rounds was due to strong leg kicks. It began to affect Whittaker’s ability to land heavy strikes as the fight progressed. USA Today's Ben Fowlkes pointed out the match's notable brutality:
Whittaker’s leg was wearing the damage heading into the third and final round.
Whittaker made the necessary adjustments for the final round. He did not put himself in a position to eat frequent leg kicks and landed several clean punches to score on the cards. Whittaker’s technical advantage on the feet was the difference. Natal could not get the fight to the ground or land his wild power punches. Whittaker put an exclamation on the bout with a head kick before the bell.
Natal is currently the No. 13-ranked contender, according to the UFC rankings, and he doesn’t deserve to drop after his performance in Las Vegas. Natal is a quality fighter and serves a good purpose as a middleweight division gatekeeper.
Natal should fight an up-and-comer or a fellow Brazilian who's coming off a loss. Thales Leites fits the latter description and would be a great fight for a fall or winter Brazilian card. MMAFighting.com's Shaheen Al-Shatti and FightMetric.com's Michael Carroll highlighted Whittaker's 4-0 record in the middleweight division:
As for Whittaker, it may be time for a serious contender. The problem is, the division is currently booked up, so it’s difficult to pinpoint an appropriate opponent. The most significant option for Whittaker would be Anderson Silva, should “The Spider” defeat Uriah Hall at UFC 198 in May.
Regardless, Whittaker has a bright future in the middleweight division, and he will be involved in a significant fight during his next outing.
The Australian striker performed well enough at UFC 197 to get the win against a tough opponent. Now it’s about claiming his stake as a true contender in the middleweight division.
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