Sometimes it’s the simplest answers in the fight game that carry the most truth.



Take this week, for example. With UFC 243 on the horizon, middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has been asked to do plenty of reflecting on the last time he competed, his June 2018 rematch with Yoel Romero at UFC 225. It makes sense. That’s the night that firmly established the legend of “Bobby Knuckles.” The night that made all those silly platitudes we so often repeat in this sport — like calling people warriors — feel justified. Whittaker has been around the martial arts for 21 years, and he’s seen and done more than most, so when the topic arose again, I felt compelled to ask: Had he ever experienced anything before like the hell that Romero put him through?



“No, no, no — nothing like that,” Whittaker responded, laughing. “Not many people do.”



He’s right. Not many people do. Few in the...