It’s a tough choice for Robert Whittaker when it comes to choosing between old rivals Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya for his next title fight.
Du Plessis will make the first defense of his middleweight title against Adesanya this weekend in the main event of UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. The South African earned his title shot by knocking out Whittaker at last year’s UFC 290 and then defeated then-champion Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 297 in January of this year.
As the fight draws closer, Whittaker is finding it increasingly difficult to choose an opponent for his UFC 305 main event, but judging by du Plessis’ performance against Strickland, Whittaker expects the champion to retain his title. Regardless of the outcome of the bout, “Bobby Knuckles” predicts the fight will go all the way to the end as both fighters are too skilled to be finished.
“If Dricus continues to push the same strategy and uses the same style he did against Strickland, I think he’ll win,” Whittaker told Fox Sports Australia. “The closer the fight gets, the harder it’s going to be to tell the difference between the two. I’m sure Adesanya has had plenty of time to reflect on his loss to Sean and is doing everything he can to counter that last loss. I think for him to win, he’s going to have to keep Dricus on the end of his jab and use the space and distance to his advantage. UFC 305: du Plessis vs. Adesanya, Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Order now! “If Dricus wins, I think it’ll be five rounds. Either way, I think it’ll be a full round. If Dricus is winning, I think the fight will go long because Adesanya is good at attacking the corner and getting hits, like Dricus vs. Strickland. Similarly, if Adesanya is winning, I think the fight will go long because he’s good at attacking the corner and getting hits, like Dricus vs. Strickland. [to win by] Dricus is still plenty tough, using his distance to attack from the outside.”
Whittaker will be closely watching the headliner at UFC 305 as he prepares for his title shot against Khamzat Chimaev in October at UFC 308. If he beats Adesanya, du Plessis has already expressed interest in fighting the winner of Whittaker vs. Chimaev before the rematch with Strickland, and while Whittaker wouldn’t explicitly guarantee a title shot if he beat Chimaev, he believes it would be hard to argue with that.
“Not explicitly, but if I win, it would be hard to argue,” he said.
“Bolz” was originally scheduled to face Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia in June but pulled out due to illness. Whittaker then knocked out last-minute replacement Ikram Aliskerov in the first round. If the unbeaten challenger pulls out again, it’s unclear whether another replacement opponent will receive the same evaluation as Chimaev. However, Whittaker says he’s not in a position to make such a judgment call and trusts the UFC, which has always been fair to him.
“I just work for this company, so I’m not in a position to be bossy or make demands,” he said. “I mean, who do I think I am? But that being said, my concerns are moving forward and [the UFC’s]
“That’s it. I’ve always had a good relationship with UFC and I’m fortunate to be part of this company. They know they’ll do the right thing for me.”
If Whittaker wins the title fight, he would be a perfect fit for a rumored UFC card in Sydney, Australia in February 2025.
“We’ve certainly heard some rumours about it being held in Sydney in February,” Whittaker said, “but at the moment it’s all just whispers.”
