Robert Whittaker is planning a busy start to 2018 as he prepares to defend his UFC middleweight belt for the first time before competing at the Commonwealth Games.
Last week Whittaker, who was already the interim middleweight champion, was given the overall title after mixed martial arts legend Georges St-Pierre vacated due to health reasons.
The New Zealand-born Australian, Australasia's first UFC champion, has been scheduled to headline UFC 221 against American Luke Rockhold in Perth in February, which comes just under two months before April's Commonwealth Games.
Whittaker has already qualified for the 97kg wrestling division at the Games following his win at the Australian wrestling trials last month.
The upcoming title fight has not changed his plans to compete on the Gold Coast, although his main priority is keeping the UFC strap around his waist.
"I should be fine for the Games, given it's not until April," Whittaker told Australia's Daily Telegraph. "But that isn't in my thoughts right now.
"I'm proud to have qualified.
"And I'm happy for myself and my coaches, because we really trained hard for it.
"But I'm not thinking about the Commonwealth Games or anything else until after this fight with Luke Rockhold."
The Sydney-based Whittaker only found out about his elevation to the top of the middleweight standings after an eight-hour car ride to Victoria for an altitude training camp.
He may have been crowned in bizarre circumstances but after tearing through the division with an eight-fight streak, there is no doubt Whittaker's mind that he is deserving of newfound status.
"To be completely honest, I've never felt like anything but the champ of this division. And I'm not sure anyone out there sees it differently," he said.
"I've already run through the toughest dudes. So even in the eyes of my fellow competitors, I was always the champ."
Photo by: WILL RUSSELL/GETTY IMAGES. Caption: Robert Whittaker defends his middleweight belt against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221.