"It's not about the reception when you come into the arena, it's the reception when you leave the arena, and I think our fight will do that," the former middleweight champion said in Sydney. "People have to respect what we both bring, and how I walk out - and I plan on walking out with my belt."

The 33-year-old's clash with Whittaker will be the main event of UFC 221 as the first Australian, the first to win gold inside the UFC's octagon, defends his title for the first time.

Rockhold spoke with reporters on Thursday, in the city where he once headlined a UFC show with England's Michael Bisping, as a young Whittaker made his debut in the 84-kilogram weight class on the undercard.

"In that fight he showed a lot of promise," Rockhold said. "He came up, he carried the weight well and I was impressed ... I followed him along the way and I knew he could be real competition. There wasn't a lot going on besides [him], he rose quickly."

If anything, "rose quickly" is an understatement. The Australian defeated contender after contender, culminating in an interim title victory over Cuban Yoel Romero in Las Vegas in July.

"Whittaker's beaten all the top guys, he's the man," Rockhold said.

There was months of conjecture about who Whittaker would fight next, but after Bisping was defeated by Georges St-Pierre, who then vacated the title, Whittaker was last week instilled as the undisputed champion of the division. However, Rockhold says "anybody who has any real understanding of the sport" already knew that was the case, but that it was nice to have some clarity on the situation.

The former champion, part-time model and once boyfriend of pop diva Demi Lovato is one of the sport's true rock stars, and he's prepared for a crowd that will no doubt be well and truly behind Whittaker, as well as a host of other Australians who will feature.

"I've been in this game for a long time, man, I've been against a lot of hostile crowds," Rockhold said.

"Last time I was out here, they somehow went for Bisping! I handled it fine last time, I'll handle it fine this time."

Rockhold plans to arrive in Perth 10 days before the event, which takes place on February 11 - but because of the time difference and the need for a US television audience, will kick off at the crack of dawn - but he says the 7am start time actually helpful, rather than a hindrance.

"It makes life actually a lot easier, you don't have to sit and stress on it," he said. "You go to sleep, you have breakfast, you have a snack, go to the arena and kick some ass."

Unlike his last fight Down Under, which almost saw he and Bisping end up in Sydney Harbour at a pre-fight media event, he doesn't expect there to be any sort of trash talk with Whittaker, who has established a reputation for being of the most respectful and humble athletes in the UFC.

"He's so ... non-confrontational," Rockhold said with a laugh. "He's very cool, calm and collected, I respect that about him ... I don't expect anything crazy."

But despite a mutual respect, Rockhold insists that he won't be taking the fight any less seriously than he would if it was someone he truly despised, as it was in Sydney in 2014.

"A fight is a fight, and when it comes down it, I'm fighting the next best guy in the world," he said.