Although Robert Whittaker would have loved to lock horns with Israel Adesanya for the third time, he’s extremely happy about being booked against a warrior like Dricus Du Plessis.
Whittaker will face Du Plessis in a potential title eliminator at UFC 290. The South African is currently riding a five-fight winning streak in the UFC, with his most recent win coming against Derek Brunson by a corner stoppage. He also holds notable wins against Darren Till and Brad Tavares.
Whittaker is a major step up in competition, however, but the Aussie thinks Du Plessis will be a tough test for him nonetheless.
“I think I read somewhere that he actually commented on that and saying, I’m not here to do the smart thing, I’m here to fight. That’s why I am so happy with this fight. Because like I will respect that and give you a fight with everything that I have,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “That is the game for me. That is the craft, that is fulfilling to me in my warrior spirit.
“From everything I’ve seen with Dricus, he seems like a straight-up fella. He seems like a warrior. He’s got like a good warrior and honorable spirit about him. That really excites me. It excites me to have an opponent like that. An opponent that sees the craft for what it is for, sees what we are getting ourselves into, staring across the Octagon together in the, in the floor space of the arena. Knowing he’s like that just gave me electric tingles. I love it.”
Whittaker most recently fought at UFC Paris, where he beat Marvin Vettori by a comfortable unanimous decision.
Who do you think will win the middleweight fight between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290?
