UFC Road to the Octagon: Souza vs Whittaker

>> Narrator: Fighting out of Australia by way
of New Zealand, Robert Whittaker is perhaps
the fastest and brightest rising star
in either country's history,
a star that both countries have claimed as their own.
>> Whittaker: I was born in New Zealand.
That year, I was flown over
and completely raised in Australia.
>> Do I have to drink it? >> Yeah, it's full of protein.
[Whittaker groaning]
>> There's a lot of passionate debates on whether I'm...
I'm Kiwi or whether I'm Australian,
and I'm really, really am proud to say that I'm both.
What are you doing? [baby coughs]
What are you doing?
We're located here in the southwestern part of Sydney.
It's where I call home now.
[laughing]
Jack, get your hands off that.
Hey.
As a kid, me and my brother were living with my father.
We come from a housing commission background,
so we didn't have a lot of money,
but it wasn't the worst thing in the world.
>> Wow.
>> Whittaker: We've always done sports.
Both our parents wanted to put us in self-defense.
We started that at seven, also rugby league.
Me and my brother both played for numerous years.
It got to a point where injury versus risk,
it just-- I had to pick one.
And I went with fighting.
My relationship with Sofia is
a huge part of who I am today.
And it's been a contributing factor
of how I've developed as a person, as a man,
as a father, as a husband.
Once I attained that stable flow of income
to provide for my family, I had bigger goals.
It's like, why can't I go bigger?
Why can't I be better?
[whooping, laughing]
So now,
I'm on my run now.
This is my run to becoming the champ.
And my aspirations don't stop there.
Through hard fights,
through grime and sweat and tears, I want to create
and forge my own legacy.
I just want him to be healthy, safe and happy.
I want to be the best ever.
>> Narrator: Whittaker's mission to become the best ever
began in earnest in 2012,
when he landed the knockout of the season
in his first ever
Ultimate Fighter Smashes bout...
>> Ref: Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!
>> Narrator: ...en route to becoming that season's victor.
>> Martinez: Robert Whittaker!
>> Narrator: Success inside The Octagon
followed with two wins at welterweight.
But his true calling has been at middleweight,
where since 2014, he has been unstoppable.
Winning five straight, including his most recent
in the first round against Derek Brunson...
>> Jon: Whittaker has knocked out Derek Brunson
in the first round!
>> Narrator: ...to earn his 17th career victory.
13 via finish.
It has been a remarkable run.
A run that the 26-year-old powerhouse
credits to the tight-knit camaraderie at his gym.
[all cheering]
>> Whittaker: I had back-to-back losses.
I was training with people that didn't really care about me.
And after those, I had to really
sit back and think, "What am I doing wrong?"
And, "Why aren't I enjoying this?"
[yells]
I had to find
and surround myself with people that cared about me.
Once I surrounded myself
with good people and I started getting on the path
of doing the right thing, the smart thing,
you know, everything kind of just fell into place.
[all cheering]
>> Whittaker: They brought something to the table
that I hadn't experienced yet,
which was a general wanting of me to succeed.
Having a team that I enjoy coming to training for,
that make the sessions that little bit easier,
it-it's huge. You know, we're a team, we're a group,
we're a family, and, uh, you know, I-I honestly believe that.
♪ ♪
>> Narrator: With every win, Whittaker and his team
have been pushing for bigger fights.
And now, they have landed Jacaré Souza,
the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace
the middleweight division has ever known.
[man rapping] ♪ I'll back you down ♪
♪ Hurting your ego ♪
>> Whittaker: The training for this fight
is-is the best it's ever been.
My footwork, my hands, my striking game.
If we keep standing, I'll put him away.
[man rapping] ♪ That's a home run ♪
♪ Got my whole team with me ♪
♪ Yeah, we all one ♪
>> Stuart McKinnon: With any of those guys,
all it takes is one little slip up,
one mistake.
Those little gloves,
and-and that dude he's fighting
he-he's a monster on the ground,
so it's the last place we want to go.
♪ ♪
>> Whittaker: Jacaré's ground game is next to legendary.
There's no secret plan
in an envelope hidden away somewhere.
It's, "Don't go to the ground."
This is the fittest, the sharpest,
the strongest I've ever been.
I'm gonna hit him until he falls over.
That's it. And, uh,
if it takes 15 minutes to do so, I'll do so.
[man singing] ♪ Put him in the background ♪
♪ Hit 'em, hit 'em, hit 'em ♪
>> Whittaker:This is a fight to see who gets
to fight for that belt.
So whether it be the left or the right,
whichever one of my paws I can get on him,
I'm gonna go ahead and do that.
[man singing] ♪ Get 'em, get 'em, get 'em ♪
♪ Hit 'em hard, get 'em, get 'em, get 'em ♪
>> Whittaker: My last opponent didn't want to take my head off
any less than this next one.
So I'm gonna get in there and I'm gonna do my thing.
I'm going to win this fight.
[man singing] ♪ I'm gonna put him in the background. ♪
>> Narrator: Halfway around the globe, Jacaré Souza
readies for Whittaker in his adopted hometown,
a city that the fighter, known as The Alligator,
arrived to after falling in love
with mixed martial arts.
>> Narrator: A five-time
Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion,
Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza is undisputedly
one of the most dangerous
mixed martial artists in the world,
with 20 of his 24 career victories
coming via stoppage,
including 17 first round finishes.
And since 2012, he has been virtually unstoppable,
with ten victories, including the last two
in spectacular fashion.
>> Jon: Jacaré Souza, by submission!
>> Narrator:Close in on his first-ever shot
at a UFC title.
♪ ♪
However, despite all of Souza's remarkable success,
he has never forgotten his humble roots.
>> Narrator: While Souza's ground game
is legendary around the world, in order to raise his striking
to the next level,
he has enlisted the help of Pedro Rizzo,
who fought three times for the UFC heavyweight belt,
and is widely acknowledged
as one of the greatest strikers
to ever come out of Brazil.
[man singing] ♪ In the cavalcade, some take me down ♪
♪ Standing strong ♪
♪ Standing strong ♪
♪ Strong ♪

UFC Road to the Octagon: Souza vs Whittaker

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