UFC 171 winner Robert Whiteford making best of 15 minutes with Pineda

After just about any decision victory, it can be reasonably counted on that an utterance of “I was hoping to finish, but …” is not far behind.

The same can be said for Robert Whiteford. But after the Scotsman’s 15-minute win over Daniel Pineda at UFC 171 earlier this month, he’s using the decision to build up his confidence.

Whiteford (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) picked up his first UFC victory against Pineda (18-11 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in Dallas – and it came after he thought for sure he was on his way to a finish.

“The fights I’ve been involved in, I hit hard,” Whiteford recently told MMAjunkie Radio. “When I hit people, I see a change in their demeanor. I hit Daniel with a head kick. He was dazed for a few seconds, and he just came straight back at me. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Wow. I’m going to be in here for 15 minutes.’ I knew he was going to be super tough, but I was a bit shocked at just how tough.”

Whiteford debuted in the UFC this past October not far from home in a short-notice fight against Jimy Hettes in England. He hung in there, but was choked out in the second round at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester.

That experience helped him, as well, even if he couldn’t come out with a win and had a 10-fight streak snapped.

“He’s been in the UFC and winning fights, so it gave me a great understanding of where I had to get to,” Whiteford said. “I think Jimy, in the first fight, he got me on my worst day and I got him on his best. So I take some confidence from that as well, just being in there with Jimy in the first place.”

But the three-rounder against Pineda, after he was able to walk through the head kick, is what Whiteford is using right now as his new measuring stick.

“Fifteen minutes in the UFC, I learned some invaluable lessons,” he said. “I’ve been letting people know as much as I love to get the finish, I’m never going to complain about getting extra experience.

There’s never been any doubt in my mind. I took the fight with Jimy on five days’ notice the last time. I’m confident after getting the win this time.”

The featherweight splits his training time between American Top Team in South Florida and the esteemed Dinky Ninjas camp in Scotland that includes upcoming “TUF 20? contestant Joanne Calderwood.

He’s not at the point he wants to call anyone out – “You put anybody in front of me, and I couldn’t care less,” he said. But he is willing to call out the UFC to let the brass know a fight in his home country would go over quite well.

“They could put a ‘Fight Night’ on in Scotland and it would sell out. I guarantee it,” he said.

For complete coverage of UFC 171, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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