Robert Whittaker stumbled into the UFC with a lot of promise and little execution.

After winning The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, the New Zealander went 1-2 with consecutive losses in his next three fights, all stateside, to leave the hype in a world of doubt.

It was then that Whittaker tempered his own expectations, with more concern about surviving in mixed martial arts’ premier organization than climbing to the top.

Fast forward through four fights (one in New Zealand and the other three in Australia) and Whittaker is 4-0 with two knockouts and beginning to think about gold.

“If you asked me a couple of years ago I wouldn’t have said as much, my aspirations weren’t that high,” he told TSN.ca. “I never expected to do what I can but with my coaching staff and my training and coming to terms with my own ability and my own talent and realizing the potential that there is, I’ve decided that I want to make a run for it.

“I’m training and I’m fighting for a title.”

Standing in his way is Rafael Natal, a gritty middleweight also on a four fight win streak. The two will lock horns on Saturday at UFC 197 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Watch all of TSN’s coverage of the event on Saturday beginning with Countdown to UFC 197 at 2:30pm et/11:30am pt, followed by the UFC 197 Pre-Fight Show and 7pm et/4pm pt, the UFC 197 Prelims at 8pm et/5pm pt and the UFC 197 Post-Fight Show at 1am et/10pm pt.

The main-card bout with Natal is Whittaker’s third fight in middleweight after deciding to reduce his weight cut through training camp.

Having to cut 18 pounds in one day before his last weigh-in, Whittaker says the move up in weight class was necessary for his success and he continues to learn more and more about his body to make training and cutting easier with each fight.

“Moving to middleweight had a massive impact on my training regime and my mental space leading into everyday training,” he said. “I was training for the fight not just trying to burn calories and get my weight down. It was a big mental relief there.

“It’s kind of a process that you’ve got to really refine and I’ve just been lucky enough to get through the fights successfully and come out where I am now. I think this is the best Robert Whittaker that I’ve ever been and I’ve definitely adapted to the weight division now. The weight cuts are on point and my prep is on point.”

Despite his aspiration for a world championship, like any good fighter Whittaker isn’t taking the opportunity in front of him for granted. Natal is a tough competitor with knockout power as well as the experience to take the fight a full three rounds.

“He’s the sort of guy that if you don’t take him serious he’ll take everything from you and I’m going in there with that approach,” he said. “He’s the only dude I can think about at the moment. Until he’s taken care of there is no one else.”

Should he take care of Natal, many possibilities open up for the 25-year-old rising star.

Whittaker has climbed to seventh in the middleweight rankings in just three fights and sits behind a murderer’s row of competition all eyeing the same prize.

Luke Rockhold will defend the middleweight title for the first time in a rematch against former champ Chris Weidman at UFC 199 in June, while Jacare Souza will look to cement his position as the next title contender against Vitor Belfort at UFC 198 in May. That locks up the top four spots in the rankings.

No. 5 Anderson Silva will also fight at UFC 198 against Uriah Hall and No. 6 Lyoto Machida was forced to pull out of last week’s date with Dan Henderson due to taking a banned substance.

As far as the top of the table is concerned, that leaves No. 4 Michael Bisping without a fight after his shocking victory over Silva in February.

On speculation, a win should have Whittaker looking upwards as he continues to climb towards the ultimate goal.

As for who might be next? Any of them would suffice.

“In my own mind to be the best you’ve got to beat them all and that may mean I need to fight above or below,” Whittaker said. “I need to take fights and I expect to win all my fights whether it’s higher ranked or lower ranked.

“That’s the game and I want to be the best.”