ROBERT Whittaker has his sights set on an interim title fight this weekend at UFC 213 against Yoel Romero but it’s impossible for him to ignore what’s been happening elsewhere in the middleweight division.

While Whittaker has put together an impressive six-fight win streak at 185 pounds and Romero has been undefeated since joining the UFC roster, current champion Michael Bisping has been on the sidelines dealing with a knee injury, not to mention his desire to face former welterweight king Georges St-Pierre when he returns to action later this year.

The fight between Bisping and St-Pierre was actually announced in March but in subsequent months, UFC president Dana White has stated numerous times that the bout is no longer in the works and the middleweight champion would instead face the winner of the upcoming fight between Whittaker and Romero.

There still seems to be some confusion, as both Bisping and St-Pierre have continued to lobby for the fight, but Whittaker says that the fight never made much sense to him.

According to Australia’s New Zealand-born knockout artist, St-Pierre is a legend of the sport but he wasn’t a middleweight during his previous tenure with the UFC and he didn’t belong in a title fight against Bisping in the first place.

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Robert Whittaker (L) battles Jacare Souza during April. Source: AFP

“The Bisping versus Georges St-Pierre thing, I’m a huge Georges fan, I’m a fan of Bisping as well, they’re both veterans of the sport — except [St-Pierre] had no business being in the middleweight division,” Whittaker, 26, told FOX Sports.

“He didn’t finish up as a middleweight fighter. He was never middleweight champion.

“He had no business being there and it was really just log-jamming the division. It was really offending the rest of us.”

Regardless of the situation happening with St-Pierre right now, Bisping is still on the sidelines with an injury, which is part of the reason why Whittaker is now facing Romero with an interim title on the line at UFC 213.

Of course, Whittaker appreciates the opportunity to compete for a championship but he also keeps everything in perspective when it comes to the belt that he hopes to have wrapped around his waist after the fight with Romero is finished.

“It definitely does [matter to me] because the champ’s been tied up and he hasn’t fought for a long time,” Whittaker said about the interim championship.

“The division was on hold and it’s at stand still and they needed this to get some blood in it, to get some flowing. Now there’s a reason to fight again.

“The interim title just means that I’m No.1. That’s all that it means until the champion’s back. It’s kind of like keeping his seat warm.”

Georges St-Pierre (top) during his last UFC back in 2013. Source: Getty Images

As much as Whittaker wants the chance to beat Bisping to solidify his spot as champion, none of that matters if he doesn’t get past Romero.

Since joining the UFC, Romero has torn through the middleweight division with eight straight wins including knockouts over former champions Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida. Add to that, Romero is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the history of mixed martial arts after a long career on the international scene including his 2000 silver medal in the Olympic games.

During his current win streak, Romero has blended together an explosive striking game to compliment his world class grappling, which has led him to six wins by knockout or TKO since joining the UFC in 2013.

As dangerous as Romero has been on his feet, Whittaker salivates at the idea that the fight would stay standing because he believes that’s as close to a guarantee that he would walk out as the new interim middleweight champion.

“If we keep it on the hands, I’ll tear him apart,” Whittaker said.

“That’s how it is. The striking game is my game and I’m fast, I’m powerful, I have hurting power.

“This fight’s going to be smart. It’s going to be whoever pushes their game plan the best and whoever can dictate the pace is really going to walk away from this fight.”

Yoel Romero after beating Chris Weidman at UFC 205. Source: AFP

Whittaker actually believes that Romero will attempt to stand and trade punches with him, but then he expects to see a radical transformation before his very eyes.

“He’ll definitely strike with me. I’m sure he has a lot of confidence in his power and his stand-up ability, I’m sure he does. You don’t get to be the No.1 middleweight and not, you can’t be one-sided. But I’ll definitely turn him into a wrestler,” Whittaker said.

“Trust me — once I start laying the heat on him, he’ll instantly fall back on what [he] grew up doing and he’ll go for that wrestling.”

As confident as Whittaker has been during his current run in the middleweight division, he’ll never get cocky enough to call his shot. Whether the fight ends in the first minute or he’s still slugging it out at the final horn, Whittaker will only promise that he’s leaving Las Vegas as the new interim middleweight champion.

“I intend to go out there and hurt him for 25 minutes. The whole length and I’ll be looking for that finish,” Whittaker said.

“This fight has the potential to end in the first minute or drag out for 25 [minutes]. I’m going to go in there looking for finishes. That’s what I do. That’s who I am and how I fight. I’m going to go in there and be me and throw my hands at him. If it drags out, I look forward to the war.”

Whittaker will become the first Australian fighter to hold a UFC title should he win.

DAMON MARTIN is a veteran US MMA reporter. Twitter: @DamonMartin