Dricus Du Plessis he thinks Sean Strickland vs. Robert Whittaker It’s the fight to be done.
Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) submitted Whittaker via TKO at UFC 290 to earn a title shot. He then dethroned Strickland at UFC 297 in January to become middleweight champion.
Since then, Whittaker (26-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) has scored back-to-back wins over Paulo Costa at UFC 298, and Ikram Aliskerov less than two weeks ago at UFC on ABC 6. Meanwhile, Strickland has bounced back with a decision victory unanimous over Costa at UFC 302.
Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) plans to wait for a title shot and has ruled out Whittaker as a potential next opponent. But despite Strickland’s reluctance, Du Plessis thinks he will end up fighting Whittaker in a No. 1 contender fight.
“In my opinion, as I see it happening, you can’t not do the Whittaker vs. Strickland fight,” said Du Plessis Send radio. “I think this is the fight that needs to happen. Now, I know that Strickland when we were in the press said that Whittaker is nothing more than a blitz and it’s an easy fight and now he doesn’t want to take that fight.
“Let me tell you something: Robert Whittaker is not an easy fight for anyone. Strickland also (is) an incredible fighter, and this is a fight that makes a lot of sense. That’s a fight in and of itself – you can fight in the main event on any card, and I honestly think that’s how it’s going to go.”
Du Plessis will attempt to make his first title defense when he faces former champion Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC 305 on August 17 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 305.
