Robert Whittaker do not see Israel Adesanya regaining the UFC middleweight title.
Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) makes his first title defense against Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC 305 on August 17 at the RAC Arena in Perth (pay-per- view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Adesanya lost the middleweight title to Sean Strickland in a come-from-behind loss at UFC 293. After submitting Whittaker via TKO at UFC 290, Du Plessis dethroned Strickland to win the middleweight title at UFC 297.
Watching Du Plessis and Adesanya’s recent fights against Strickland, Whittaker thinks there is a plan for Du Plessis to raise his hand.
“I’m going to lean toward Dricus,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie. “I think what he demonstrated in his fight against Sean Strickland, that forward pressure and that strange, unorthodox style – especially with the success Sean had doing that with Izzy – I think that’s a recipe for beating Adesanya.”
With Khamzat Chimaev withdrawing due to illness, Whittaker (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC) will now face Ikram Aliskerov (15-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the main event of Saturday’s UFC on ABC 6 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh (ABC, ESPN, ESPN+).
His initial fight with Chimaev was considered the No. 1 contender’s fight. When asked if a win over Aliskerov would have the same title implications, Whittaker said he can’t focus on that.
“(The title) isn’t something I focus on too much – I don’t look beyond the fight,” Whittaker said. “I understand the threat and gravity that Ikram will bring to the fight. I can’t afford to entertain thoughts beyond him. I’m just focused and focused on trying to take his head off in the 25 minutes I have.”
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 305.
