Robert John Whittaker (born 20 December 1990) is a New Zealand-born Australian professional mixed martial artist who is based in Sydney. He is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Whittaker was a contestant on the first series of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes and won the welterweight tournament. Whittaker became interim middleweight champion after winning the title at UFC 213; he was promoted to undisputed champion after Georges St-Pierre vacated the UFC Middleweight Championship in 2017. As of 19 January 2021, he is #1 in the UFC middleweight rankings and, as of 14 June 2021, he is #11 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings.