Robert Whittaker vs. Rafael Natal

Round 1
Whittaker takes the center of the cage and follows Natal around the outside, clipping the veteran with a right hook as both men test the range. Natal scores with a pair of leg kicks, a counter hook and then tries to clinch with Whittaker but comes up empty. Natal eats a left hook but ducks underneath Whittaker’s follow-up head kick and nearly converts it to a takedown midway through the round, but again Whittaker is able to keep his footing. Whittaker sticks a nice jab and sidesteps Natal’s return fire as the middleweights hunt and peck in the last two minutes. Whittaker lands a leg kick, gets hit back with a body shot. A looping left hook behind the ear momentarily takes the legs out from underneath Natal, but he’s right back on his feet within seconds to continue lobbing bombs at Whittaker in the closing seconds.

Sherdog Scores
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Whittaker
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Whittaker
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Whittaker

Round 2
Both men come out swinging, Natal getting backed up to the fence as Whittaker tries to take off his head. Whittaker snuffs out a running double-leg attempt and steps forward to crack Natal with an overhand. Natal responds with three hard chops to Whittaker’s lead leg, then looks to change levels but again is stood up. Whittaker’s left leg is a mess just 90 seconds into the round; the Australian is now checking Natal’s kicks and limping a bit as he comes forward. Whittaker tries to give Natal a leg kick in return, but there’s nothing much behind it. Whittaker is keeping Natal cornered near the fence, not giving the Brazilian much room to operate. Whittaker is dripping blood from his nose, while Natal is sporting a swollen left eye and a small cut on his forehead.

Sherdog Scores
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Whittaker
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Whittaker
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Whittaker

Round 3
The action is paused early in the final round when Natal gets a heel to the cup from an awkward Whittaker side kick. “Sapo” recovers quickly and comes back to fight, and now the middleweights trade kicks in the middle of the cage. Natal continues to do damage with his kicks, but Whittaker is landing clean with punches almost every time he chooses to throw. An overhand left dings Natal’s face, then a jab and a front kick to the midsection. Natal gets stuffed on a double-leg shot and socked with a left hand to the face on the split. Another left hand has Natal stumbling near the fence, but the vet is hanging tough, continuing to throw kicks. Down to the final minute, Natal steps off the fence to engage with Whittaker in the center. The leg kicks are starting to have a visible effect on Whittaker, who has stumbled after the last few chops to his left stem. Right at the 10-second clapper, Whittaker catches Natal leaning left and clubs him with a right high kick for the last meaningful strike of the bout.

Sherdog Scores
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Whittaker (30-27 Whittaker)
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Whittaker (30-27 Whittaker)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Whittaker (30-27 Whittaker)

The Official Result
Robert Whittaker def. Rafael Natal via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) R3 5:00