Middleweight Robert Whittaker is fresh off a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 298. The fighter performed admirably in an all-out striking affair. Soon after, he sounded off on his title aspiration against current champ Dricus Du Plessis . The title picture at middleweight needs a bit more clarity.
‘The Reaper’ attended the UFC 298 Media Day Q&A session in Sydney, where he spoke of his resolve to hurt Costa. While the rival took the first round, Whittaker rebounded in rounds two and three to secure a UD win. Speaking on MMArcade Podcast (Episode #35) with Jonny Roses (@LoneVaultWanderer), he aims to keep another promise – working his way to the title. This is what ‘The Reaper’ said:
[On who Dricus should be fighting next] Uhm, mate...me [laughs] Call me out you bum! I can see them [UFC] making "that" Izzy fight, because of the bad blood between them...I can't really see UFC getting behind Strickland again... I don't think they really loved him as a champion... Robert Whittaker on MMArcade Podcast (Episode #35)
At the Media Day Q&A session before his Feb. 17 co-main fight, he discussed a potential fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. He nudged to the Submission Radio podcast that Du Plessis would make quick, messy, yet definitive work of Adesanya. Du Plessis vs. Adesanya seems to be in the works. However, the UFC has yet to announce anything definitive.
Consequently, Whittaker has former champ Sean Strickland in mind for a #1 contender’s spot. The Australian fighter doesn’t consider the holistically angry and unfiltered ‘Tarzan’ to be that bad. However, he felt fighting Strickland gives him the best chance to receive the next title shot after Du Plessis vs. Adesanya.
Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis: Through the lines
Middleweight Robert Whittaker stands at a stunning 25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC stat with his recent win at UFC 298. He went to war with a bloody and brutal affair on the main card and came out with a decision win. As such, he is willing to work patiently to challenge current champ Dricus Du Plessis. Whittaker suffered a brutal defeat at UFC 290 during International Fight Week. Du Plessis dominated him and won via TKO in the second round.
Robert Whittaker already claimed to be better than the current champ by a substantial margin. Whittaker felt he would win the bout 9 out of 10 times. Earlier, he vowed to bounce back better after losing to Du Plessis. He did that at UFC 298. Only time will tell if Whittaker keeps his promise to bounce back to avenge his loss against DDP.
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