Whittaker won't rush into proposed bout with Rockhold

Robert Whittaker is now a marked man.

"The Reaper" dismantled Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza at UFC on FOX 24 on Saturday - his second straight TKO win over a top-10 opponent - and he barely had time to enjoy it before former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold reportedly called him out:

Whittaker was notified of the challenge at the evening's post-fight presser and he offered a level-headed response.

"It's news to me," Whittaker said, according to Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie. "It's cool, but it's too fresh. I've got to get back home to my kids, I've got to see my wife. Let me see my family first.

"It's a bit rushed. It's too much to process at once."

Some fantasy bookings are to be expected for the 26-year-old, whose six straight wins against middleweight competition are second only to Yoel Romero's eight-fight streak. Whittaker has grown in leaps and bounds since winning "The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes" as a welterweight back in 2012.

Rockhold was originally supposed to fight Jacare last November, only to withdraw with a knee injury. Now that his health appears to be in order, Rockhold has been angling for fights against Whittaker, Anderson Silva, and former heavyweight king Fabricio Werdum.