Dricus du Plessis has been hugely impressed with Robert Whittaker’s recent win but believes ‘Bobby Knuckles’ is one win away from a title shot.
Whittaker lost via second-round TKO to du Plessis at UFC 290 in July 2023. Du Plessis was the only person other than Israel Adesanya to beat Whittaker since 2014, but the loss led many to discount “The Grim Reaper.”
However, Whittaker bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in February. Whittaker was then scheduled to compete in a title-winning bout against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC on ABC 6 last month, but “Bolz” withdrew due to illness. Unranked prospect Ikram Aliskerov took over for Chimaev nine days before the bout, but Aliskerov was knocked out in the first round.
Du Plessis followed the fight closely and was very happy with Whittaker’s dominant win and believes the Australian could have beaten Chimaev as well. For du Plessis, it was a statement of support for the entire top tier of the division.
“It wasn’t a bad performance from him, it was a typical Rob performance,” du Plessis told Hello Sports recently. “I was better that night, I got the win and people were writing him off just because of that loss. He bounced back against Paulo Costa and Paulo Costa had a fantastic performance in that game. [Whittaker] Just beat him…I honestly believe he would have beaten Khamzat if they had to fight. That fight was a big question mark for me.
[Whittaker vs. Aliskerov] “It meant something to me as the champion, but I was really happy because I don’t think people understand what it takes to be in the top five in the UFC. To be a top five fighter in the world.”
Aliskerov was on a seven-fight win streak coming into the fight against Whittaker, with the Russian’s only professional loss coming by first-round knockout to Chimaev in 2019. Aliskerov has had an impressive track record on the regional stage and in his early UFC career, but du Plessis points out that, as Whittaker has proven, it’s an entirely different game in the upper echelons of the UFC.
“And this guy, Ikram, I trained with him years ago,” du Plessis said. “He’s a good fighter. A really good fighter, but even if you think you’re a good fighter, even a great fighter, just coming into the UFC in the top five, top three, it’s a whole other story. It takes a special person to do that. And Robert Whittaker has proven that. I’m really happy that he’s proven that, because a lot of guys, after winning three or four fights, think, ‘I’m ready to beat a top fighter, why can’t I beat that guy?’ But he just went out there and proved that there’s a level to this game.”
Meanwhile, du Plessis will defend his title against former champion Israel Adesanya on August 17 at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. While du Plessis was impressed with Whittaker’s performance, he doesn’t think it was enough to justify another title fight. According to du Plessis, Whittaker will next face number one contender Sean Strickland, who defeated Costa by split decision last month at UFC 302.
“Yeah [Strickland vs. Whittaker]”It’s a meaningful fight,” du Plessis said. “I know Dana said Whittaker vs. Khamzat would be a title opportunity, but that’s kind of taken away from Rob. Just because you beat an unranked guy doesn’t necessarily give you a title opportunity, so that opportunity was taken away… But Rob vs. Strickland is going to be a big one. It’s a tough fight, you don’t know who’s going to win… It’s going to be an interesting fight. It’s a shame we won’t see it.”
