Newly crowned UFC interim middleweight world champion Robert Whittaker wants to break and crush regular champion Michael Bisping, but might not be able to fight again this year.
Whittaker retuned to Sydney on Tuesday morning after scoring a five-round unanimous decision over Cuban Yoel Romero last weekend in Las Vegas, despite re-injuring a knee in the first round.
The 26-year-old fighter showed signs of the brutal bout with cuts on his forehead and under his right eye and said his knee was sore and swollen.
He will see a doctor once the swelling goes down.
There is a UFC card scheduled for Sydney on November 19, but Whittaker isn't sure he will be right to fight again this year because of the knee and torrid battles in the space of three months against Ronaldo Jacare Souza and Romero.
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"It would be hard - I need a few months just to get over my injuries," he told AAP on Tuesday.
"I didn't let my body rest very well after the Jacare fight and now I've had a five-round war with Yoel Romero, so I need to make sure I look after my body now."
Englishman Bisping, whose own injury issue opened up an interim title opportunity for Whittaker, directed a foul-mouthed tirade against him in the octagon immediately after the result was announced.
Whittaker refused to lose his cool then and said he didn't feel disrespected by the Briton's antics.
"My job was to win that interim belt and I did that; nothing he could say can take that away from me," Whittaker said.
"I worked hard for that and I'm the No.1 contender and we're going to fight soon enough.
"I have a lot of respect for him - he knows that - but when we get in that octagon and we touch gloves, I'm going to break him.
"I've fought two of the most-dangerous people on the planet recently, back-to-back.
"My focus is there, my mental strength is there and I have everything to crush him (Bisping)."
He hoped the Bisping fight would be at home as he said Australia deserved the bout.
The down-to-earth Sydneysider was impressed by one particular congratulatory message.
"(Actor) Robert Downey Jr got in touch with me and said 'congratulations'. I'm a massive fan of his and that meant a lot to me," Whittaker said.
