Kiwi MMA star Robert Whittaker claims he will defeat Dricus Du Plessis if they were to fight again at middleweight as he believes he will beat him “nine times out of 10.” Whittaker, with a record of 24-7 MMA and 15-5 UFC, was previously defeated by Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round TKO at UFC 290 in July 2023. However, Du Plessis went on to win the middleweight championship in January at UFC 297 by defeating Sean Strickland.
Robert Whittaker expresses regret over failure to turn up mentally in his previous bout against Dricus Du Plessis
Robert Whittaker, gearing up for a fight against Paulo Costa in the UFC 298 co-main event on February 17, expressed his desire to earn a rematch with Du Plessis. He believes that he underestimated Du Plessis’ hunger in their last fight but still believes he is a better fighter as he said “Dricus is a hungry guy, man. You saw in his last fight, and I think I underestimated that hunger. I still believe I beat him nine times out of 10.”
Whittaker stated that he didn’t mentally turn up for their last meeting and acknowledged Du Plessis as a formidable opponent. He expressed regret for not matching Du Plessis’ hunger in their last encounter as he said “I still believe I’m a better fighter than he is, that I have a better skill set than he does. But mate: big strong guy that’s hungry and willing to leave it all there? You need to match that. I feel like I didn’t do that in that last fight.”
Robert Whittaker says he beats Dricus Du Plessis “9 times out of 10”
“In terms of Dricus, he’s on a list that I want to run it back with.
I just didn’t turn up last time [against Dricus]. 9 times out of 10 I beat him, and the next time we cross paths will be one of those 9… pic.twitter.com/m3eE9m6uhL
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 2, 2024
Robert Whittaker sees Du Plessis as someone he wants to face again, emphasizing that the next time they meet, he would emerge victorious over the South African as he said “He’s definitely on a list that I want to run it back with, I just didn’t turn up last time. Like I said, nine times out of 10 I beat him, and I think next time we cross paths, it’s going to be one of those nine times.”
Had Robert Whittaker won against Du Plessis, he would have faced Israel Adesanya at UFC Sydney instead of Sean Strickland, who stepped in due to an injury to the South African fighter. Whittaker aims to bounce back, stating that he wants to run it back with Du Plessis and is determined to prove himself in a potential rematch.
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