UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker believes Dricus du Plessis’ style could prove too difficult for Israel Adesanya when the pair clash for the title on August 18.
Whittaker is better placed than most to comment on the UFC 305 main event, having fought both du Plessis and Adesanya a combined three times.
The former champion thinks the South African could find the same sort of success Sean Strickland did against the Nigerian-born Kiwi.
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“Stylistically, this suits Dricus quite well,” Whittaker told The Sporting News.
“I think the performance we saw displayed in his last fight, that level of pressure he put on Sean Strickland, he’ll use to great effect against Adesanya, especially when we saw Strickland use the same sort of thing against Adesanya when they fought.
“I’m going to lean towards Dricus for this one.”
With that fight going down in a couple of months, many are tipping Whittaker to get the shot at the winner, provided he can get his hand raised this weekend against Ikram Aliskerov.
As someone who unfortunately knows the pain of being forced to withdraw from a fight all too well, “The Reaper” has only sympathy for Khamzat Chimaev after their proposed bout was called off.
Last week, UFC boss Dana White announced that Chimaev was “violently ill” and Whittaker would instead be fighting the unranked but dangerous Aliskerov in the main event of the company’s debut show in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, June 22 (June 23 in Australia).
“I wish him only the best and I wish him a healthy recovery,” the former champion said.
“I’m not fighting him, we’re not opponents anymore, we’re not enemies. It was never personal.
“At the end of the day, we were just doing a job, it’s a sport. Outside of the Octagon, we’re just people. I wish him only the best.”
Whittaker said, while there was only a short period of time between Chimaev’s withdrawal and word of the replacement opponent coming through, it made for a nervous few moments.
“It was stressful because there was the potential for the fight just to fall apart and that would have been a catastrophe for me because I’ve put all this work in, I’m over here already and this is how I provide for my family - if I don’t fight, I don’t provide and that is the worst outcome,” he explained, adding, at that point, he was going to agree to fight whoever the UFC offered him.
“This is how I provide for my family. I came here to fight and fight I will do.”
In his first interview following the change of opponent, Whittaker told New York Post Sports he hadn’t actually heard of Aliskerov but, having done some study, knows he’s in for a tough fight.
“I meant no disrespect in that, I just hadn’t heard of him before,” he said.
“Obviously, I’ve done my research since then and honestly, in a lot of angles, he’s more of a dangerous fight for me than Chimaev is.
“He’s got a very well-rounded skillset, he’s taken Chimaev into hardship and he’s got better striking with knockout power.
“I’m going to have to be on my toes for this one, I’m going to just have to play my game and lean into my strengths.”
After dropping what ended up being a world title eliminator to du Plessis, Whittaker got back in the winners’ circle with victory over the tough Paulo Costa last time out.
With another championship bout potentially on the line, he’s hoping to make a statement in Riyadh this weekend.
“I’m going to get in there and I’m going to be the hunter, I’m going to be the predator for 25 minutes,” he said.
“I’ll go to war for 25 minutes, I’ll make it a slugfest for 25 minutes, I don’t care.
“I’m getting in there and I’m going to take everything from him.”