Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker expects his division's title picture to soon have another Australian making waves.
Whittaker is one of the most experienced high level competitors in MMA today. He has been considered to be right at the top of the 185-pound weight class ever since 2017 when he became the interim champion by defeating Yoel Romero at UFC 213, and he's still in the title picture to this day.
With that in mind, "The Reaper" is an excellent judge of whether fighters have what it takes to swim with the sharks. In his opinion, one of his close teammates and training partners is just waiting for the opportunity to live up to his potential...
Robert Whittaker Says Teammate Jacob Malkoun Has What It Takes To Fight The Best In The World
Speaking in an interview with MMA News, Whittaker was asked to name some of the fighters he will always tune in to watch as a fan favorite himself.
Well, my teammate, Jacob Malkoun, he's certainly one that I watch, obviously. But I think that he's still flying under the radar," Whittaker said. "I think he had a couple unfortunate weird losses but he's back in that winning column now and he's a guy that could fight someone in the top 10 tomorrow I think and like, handedly get his hand raised.
The 28-year old Malkoun has had an up and down run so far in the UFC since debuting back at UFC 254 in 2020 with just four professional fights under his belt.
He has since secured four wins in seven outings, the latest of which came in March when he stopped Andre Petroski in one of the most unique endings to a fight in some time.
Whittaker believes that his teammate is more than equipped to compete at the top level of the division and hopes that he will get his opportunity to prove that in the near future.
I think Jacob will beat a lot of people. Like, I cannot stress enough how much trouble he gives me in the gym and I think I'm the best in the world," Whittaker continued. "He gives me trouble every single day, so the world's his oyster. I want to see him get a top 10 fight and just cement that.