The black belt in hapkido, karate and Tuf Ww tournament winner Robert Whittaker entered this fight with a professional mma record of 15-4-0 (80% finishing rate) and he is ranked as the No.9 middleweight in the world (currently the #1 in this division is Luke Rockhold). He suffered two consecutive losses between 2013 and 2014, against Court McGee (=McGee vs Whittaker) and Stephen Thompson (=Whittaker vs Thompson), but then he has won four bouts beating Uriah Hall in his last one (=Hall vs Whittaker).
His opponent, the black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Rafael Natal, has an official record of 21-6-1 (57% finishing rate) and he entered as the No.20 in the same weight class. ‘Sapo’ Natal also lost twice between 2013 and 2014, against Tim Kennedy (=Kennedy vs Natal) and Ed Herman, but then he has collected four consecutive victories defeating Kevin Casey in 2016. Whittaker vs Natal is on the undercard of Jon Jones vs Ovince Saint Preux – UFC 197. Watch the video and rate this fight!
Rafael Natal fight videos
2013 MMA fight – Tim Kennedy vs Rafael Natal – full fight Video UFC Ufn 31
Review: 2013-11-06, the fight between Tim Kennedy and Rafael Natal gets three stars thanks to a spectacular finish. Tim Kennedy (16-4-0, 81% finishing rate) entered as the No.12 middleweight in the world while Rafael ‘Sapo’ Natal (17-4-1, 65% finishing rate) entered as the No.47. Kennedy vs Natal is the main event valid of “UFC Fight Night 31: Fight for the Troops 3”. Watch the video!
2013 MMA fight – Rafael Natal vs Tor Troeng – fight Video UFC Ufn 28
Review: 2013-09-04, great performance by both fighters with a good work on the ground: Rafael Natal vs Tor Troeng gets three stars (UFC Fight of the Night). Rafael ‘Sapo’ Natal (16-4-1, 69% finishing rate) entered as the No.56 middleweight in the world while Tor Troeng (16-4-1, 76% finishing rate) entered as the No.42. Natal vs Troeng is on the undercard of Glover Teixeira vs Ryan Bader – UFC Fight Night 28. Watch the video!
2013 MMA fight – Rafael Natal vs Joao Zeferino – fight Video UFC on FX 8
Review: 2013-05-18, good start but then the pace slows down: Rafael Natal vs Joao Zeferino gets two stars. Rafael Natal ranked as the No.66 middleweight in the world, entered the fight with a record of 15-4-1 (73% finishing rate) while Joao Zeferino had a record of 13-4-0 (77% finishing rate). Natal vs Zeferino is on the undercard of Vitor Belfort vs Luke Rockhold – UFC on FX 8. Watch the video!