“Make it awkward, and dirty, and messy,” Robert Whittaker reveals path to victory for Dricus Du Plessis in potential Israel Adesanya fight

Robert Whittaker veers towards Dricus Du Plessis' chances in a supposed maiden defense against Israel Adesanya.

“Make it awkward, and dirty, and messy,” Robert Whittaker reveals path to victory for Dricus Du Plessis in potential Israel Adesanya fight

Robert Whittaker weighs in on Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya (Source: YouTube, @SubmissionRadio/ X)

Robert Whittaker comes into UFC 298 with a stoppage loss to now middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. The former UFC middleweight champion faces Paulo Costa at UFC 298. Ahead of this, ‘The Reaper’ attended the UFC 298 Media Day Q&A session in Sydney recently. He talked about a potential fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.

In conjunction, Whittaker spoke to a plethora of assembled journalists. To whom he said that for UFC 298, he wanted to hurt Costa. Du Plessis laid the groundwork for his first title defense. He suggested a fight with Adesanya at UFC 300 shortly after his title win. The combat sports community has responded well to his post-fight interview callout. Now, speaking with the Submission Radio podcast, Whittaker added: 

He [Du Plessis] was the underdog for the [title] shot fight as well, right? And look what happened... So I think, maybe, Dricus [as a champion] is able to lead that fight [vs Adesanya] a little bit and make it awkward and dirty and messy... and maybe he wins...
Robert Whittaker via Submission Radio
YouTube video

Dricus Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) recently edged out Sean Strickland with a split decision win (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) and bagged the 185lbs gold. Whittaker mirrors his statement from the MMArcade Podcast about Du Plessis winning because he wanted it more than the then-champion.

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Concurrently, Israel Adesanya himself is also acclimating well to such a proposition. In response to Dricus Du Plessis’s callout, Adesanya foreshadowed their destined encounter, adding intrigue to the UFC middleweight title setting. Whittaker believes Du Plessis can defeat Adesanya if he mixes striking, clinches, grappling, and pressure. In other words, make it a dirty fight for Adesanya, who is known for playing it safe.

Robert Whittaker thinks beating Paulo Costa opens up every door at middleweight for him

Robert Whittaker is doing social media rounds in the lead-up to UFC 298. Recently, Whittaker, Alexander Volkanvoski, and Justin Tafa attended the UFC 298 promotional press conference in Australia. Volkanovski’s featherweight division has had four titleholders since its inception. Meanwhile, the middleweight division has had four different changes in title holder in the last 14 months or so.

Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis opens up familiar title contention grounds for 'The Reaper' to reap on
Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis opens up familiar title contention grounds for ‘The Reaper’ to reap on (Source: IMAGO/Twitter)

Speaking at the Submission Radio podcast, he was asked if Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya opens up future doors for him on the grounds of familiar history with Du Plessis. This is what he replied: 

Like I haven't looked at the division and ranking as closely as that... I do see that the division's moving, like more than it ever has, and that it's ripe with opportunity... yeah, there's opportunity to be had. It exciting in a sense, that beating Costa opens every door for me...
Robert Whittaker via Submission Radio

Whittaker is cautiously optimistic that defeating a big name like Paulo Costa might open up title contention doors. Robert Whittaker stands as the #3 middleweight in official divisional listings. Hence, such a big win can hopefully be a considerable bump on the scale of a title eliminator.

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