Robert Wilkinson has opened about his suspension last year, stating ‘I’m not proud of the choices I made.’
‘Razor’ is just days out from his 2024 PFL Playoff bout against Dovlet Yagshimuradov, as he pursues his second PFL Championship in the space of three seasons. The Australian did enter the 2023 PFL Season but after his opening bout against Thiago Santos, it was revealed that Wilkinson had tested positive for an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio.
Ahead of his Playoff bout, Wilkinson spoke with MMAJunkie. Naturally, the topic of the suspension came up during the interview and when reflecting on it, he said:
“Yeah, I own that mistake. That was a big mistake and I'm not proud of the choices I made but that's what happened, and I got suspended for that time. I took that time to recover mentally and physically and now I'm just back motivated to win another world title. So far, so good two fights in, two wins and two more to go.”
Once an athlete is handed a suspension, fans can sometimes be left questioning how long the athlete in question had been taking using banned substances. Wilkinson fully acknowledged this and hopes that if he wins the 2024 title, it will show that he is just as good when competing as a clean athlete.
“Yeah, the first fight back was really good to get back and get out there and go get a dominant win, a dominant knock out in the first 90 seconds or whatever it was of the fight and just to show that nothing's changed and this is the fighter I am.
“I come out, I'm aggressive and I'm looking for the finish at all time. So I guess after not fighting for a year, I felt the pressure and more of that kind of chip on my shoulder to go out there and prove how good I am.
“And I feel like now I've had that fight and, you know, I've had another fight since then. I can put that all behind me and now I'm just focusing on being the best fight I can be and getting back that world championship.
Having already been crowned PFL Champion, in 2022, Wilkinson believes his experience stands him in good stead for the rest of the season.
“Yeah man, it feels good to be back, you know, going into the playoffs and yeah, as you say, I've done it before, I've got that experience. The season is hard. It's hard to go back to back fights, back to back to back to back fights. So just, you know, focusing on keeping healthy, keeping the body healthy, making sure you're taking the time off when you need it.
“If you need a rest, if you're feeling sick or whatever, making sure you are resting and not getting too burnt out from it all. But yeah, I think I manage that pretty well.”
You can see the full interview below:
