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Whiteford Believes His Left Hand Can Stifle Elkins' Wrestling in Dublin

“When I stop him getting off and he realizes it’s not going to be that easy to take this Scottish guy down, he’ll be in for a shock. I’m going to be looking to knock him out.”
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Robert 'The Hammer' Whiteford will face his first ranked opponent on Saturday night in Dublin when he meets Darren Elkins, the number 14 placed featherweight on the UFC's books.

Usually when a European meets an American, the same refrain regarding the standard of wrestling in the US is often noted. A common belief is that Europeans simply can't match their stateside counterparts in that area. A former wrestling state champion, Elkins certainly fits the mold for the argument and even though Whiteford has represented Scotland in judo at commonwealth level, he concedes that he probably will have to spend some time on his back on Saturday night.

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"I train over here at American Top Team, when I'm at home I train at The Griphouse in Glasgow," he explains. "I'm always trying to get better everyday whether that's with striking, wresting or jiu-jitsu, or just my all round game. Obviously here at American Top Team you get to train with a lot of wrestlers, and that's going to be really helpful ahead of this fight.

"Really, Elkins is a grinder. He's a good wrestler, at some point I know I'm going to be on my back during the fight, I'm not going to take that away from him. It's whether he can use the position to his advantage and stop me getting up and taking my chance to knock him out, that's the real question.

"He tends to move forward in a straight line to look for a clinch up against the fence and eventually get a takedown. I'm not daft, I know that's his game. When I stop him getting off and he realizes it's not going to be that easy to take this Scottish guy down, he'll be in for a shock. I'm going to be looking to knock him out."

Even on his ascent through the regional ranks, Whiteford's left hand has always been the primary concern for the majority of his opponents. While he had to wait until his third UFC bout in front of his home crowd in Glasgow to use it to it's full effect, there is no doubt Elkins has taken note of Whiteford's first-round dispatch of Paul Redmond back in July.

Interestingly, Whiteford is actually right handed. The Scot claims that he used to think his left hand was "useless" up until he was advised to use it more by his boxing coach, former pro light-middleweight Colin McNeil.

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"Before I made it to the UFC I was putting people away with that left hand in the same fashion," he says. "Martin Svensson, the guy that's on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, I put him away with that same shot in the first 32 seconds of the first round of our fight. It was exactly the same shot. Now I've stepped up to the UFC and I'm doing exactly the same there.

"To be honest, before I start working with my boxing coach Colin McNeil I never had confidence in that shot. I'm a natural right-hander, but I stand in the southpaw position. My natural shot is on my lead hand – my right hook, my uppercut and body shot. The left was just a feeler, I never had much confidence in it until Colin instilled it in me.

"He told me that my left-hand hitting was every bit as good as my right, if not better. It's just repetition, repetition and repetition of the same shot and it's given me a lot of confidence with it. I know that anyone that walks into the shot is in trouble, and even if I miss with that, I always have my right hand. It's crazy because I used to think the left hand was useless."

Such is Whiteford's confidence against Elkins that he believes the American could fall for the same trap that saw Redmond's night ended early in Glasgow.

"I know that if it lands on anyone they're in trouble. If I'm on the back foot, if I'm going forward, I just know that all I have to do is hit that sweet spot and that's the end of the night for them. Even if I'm in trouble I know I can always catch people with it.

"As for Elkins, he's very basic with his foot work, he plods forward and he's flat footed. He throws three or four shot combinations as he moves in a straight line. Don't be surprised if you see him running into the same trap as I caught Redmond with.

"The UFC isn't a place for footwork. It's kill or be killed. I'm in there to take people out and I know my opponents are always looking to do the same thing. I'm going to use a bit of footwork to move out of the way if he comes forward, but I'll be trying to lead him on to that left hand. The only movement I use will be to set up a finish, I certainly won't be avoiding him."