Robert Whittaker reveals the UFC loss he wants to ‘correct’ the most, and it’s not against Khamzat Chimaev

Robert Whittaker wants redemption against Dricus du Plessis before he retires

During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Whittaker previewed his return to action on July 26 as he enters the final “couple of years” in his illustrious MMA career.

With a victory over Reinier de Ridder on Saturday, ‘The Reaper’ is hoping to begin staking his claim for a shot at regaining the middleweight gold. But it’s not only the title that has him targeting its current holder, Dricus du Plessis.

“I’d like to fight him (Du Plessis) again. That would be the icing on the cake,” Whittaker said.

“Honestly, I do think I’m better than him. I think I’m better than everybody, even when I lose, right? It’s mainly that in our first pairing, I let myself down in that fight, and I want to correct that. I didn’t have the right headspace to go and beat him.

“I want to correct that more than any of my other losses,” Whittaker added. “That’s the fight I didn’t like feeling like that.”

Whittaker was knocked out by Du Plessis at UFC 290 in 2023, a result that saw the South African become only the second man to beat ‘The Reaper’ at middleweight behind only Israel Adesanya.

Robert Whittaker will have a close eye on UFC 319

With those comments in mind, should he emerge victorious from the UFC Abu Dhabi main event, the Australian will be among the intrigued viewers for the next middleweight title fight.

Two of Whittaker’s former opponents will clash with the gold on the line in just a few weeks, with Du Plessis defending against Chimaev in the main event of UFC 319.

The card is set to go down at the United Center in Chicago on August 16.