UFC fighter Robert Whittaker has tipped former rival Israel Adesanya as favourite for his potential bout against middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 on August 18 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Adesanya lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland in September, while du Plessis claimed the title after beating Strickland in January.
Whittaker, who has fought both men, believes Adesanya can dominate the South-African in five rounds, but he also credits du Plessis’s ability.
He said, “I can see Adesanya just piecing him up for five rounds. But in saying that, Dricus is tough as nails, and he’s awkward.
“I can also see Dricus just getting in there and making it awkward, and, I don’t know, taking him out of his rhythm because we saw when Adesanya fought Strickland. Strickland pushing that pace and moving into his space changed the rhythm of the fight.
“Adesanya didn’t adapt to that very well. I think if Dricus does the same, he might have the same sort of success.”
The fight hasn’t been made official yet but on Tuesday, du Plessis went on social media and accepted both matchup and location, which disappointed Whittaker, as he doesn’t believe Adesanya should get a title chance based on his record of two losses in his last three fights.
“Adesanya fighting for a title again hurts me,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade podcast on Thursday.
“But I understand. Dricus asked for it. He’s the champ; (he) gets what he wants. Adesanya is a draw. It seems like the fight that was going to happen, in my opinion. It’s an interesting fight.”
Whittaker previously faced Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 243 and suffered a second-round knockout loss. They met in a rematch at UFC 271, with ‘The Last Stylebender’ winning the bout via a unanimous decision.
Meanwhile, du Plessis finished Whittaker in the second-round at UFC 290 to punch his own ticket to a middleweight title shot.
