Du Plessis already defeated Whittaker by technical knockout at UFC 290 back in summer 2023.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is expected to defend his 185-pound title against an opponent to be named atop the upcoming UFC 305 pay-per-view (PPV) event this August in Perth. The leading candidate is former 185-pound titleholder Israel Adesanya, who already has an “ugly” history with “Stillknocks” dating back to the “Last Stylebender’s” days as division kingpin.
The promotion has yet to make the fight official.
“I’ve agreed to everything, I’m ready, I want to do it,” Du Plessis told Fight Wave. “That’s the fight I want. Let’s just announce this thing. I don’t know what’s the hold up. I want it to be announced, I want it to be, that’s it. I don’t know from his side, I don’t know what the story is, I don’t know what the hold up is. Maybe the UFC is waiting for something, I’m not sure. At the end of the day, I’ve agreed to it. If they had to phone me today and say we’re doing the Sean Strickland second fight, I’ll be like ‘great, let’s do it.’ If they say no, we’re going to wait and do the Khamzat fight, great.”
Du Plessis defeated Strickland for the middleweight title at UFC 297 but the fight was close enough to warrant an immediate rematch. In addition, undefeated up-and-comer Khamzat Chimaev is booked to battle former 185-pound titleholder Robert Whittaker in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event in less than two weeks.
‘’Should he beat Whittaker, I would love to fight Khamzat,” Du Plessis continued. “In my opinion, should Whittaker beat Khamzat, I don’t think it warrants him a title shot. Honestly would love to see him and Strickland fight it out for No. 1 contender fight. I was willing to fight Strickland, Khamzat, Adesanya. I’m champion, I have to fight who they give me. I want to fight the best guy. Strickland fans were like, ‘fight him again.’ I said ‘guys, I will fight him again.’ I don’t make that decision.”
UFC makes that decision and hopefully makes it sooner, rather than later.