Robert Whittaker hopes the UFC gives Israel Adesanya the first crack at challenging new middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
During a recent appearance on the MMArcade Podcast, ‘The Reaper’ shared his take on who should be the first man to challenge the new 185-pound king later this year — the likeliest of options being either Sean Strickland or Adesanya. Whittaker ultimately landed on ‘The Last Stylebender,’ though his reason for doing so was admittedly selfish.
“I don’t know, mate. Me. Call me out you bum,” Whittaker said. “I can see them making that [Israel Adesanya] fight because of the bad blood between them, because of South Africa and that whole story arc. I can’t really see the UFC getting behind [Sean] Strickland again. I don’t think they loved him as a champ to begin with so I don’t think they’re really gunning for that rematch. I don’t know. I don’t know.
“I’m kind of hoping Dricus gets Izzy in a sense, just so that I can fight Strickland.”
Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya appeared to be on a collision course following DDP’s impressive second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 last year. Unfortunately, Adesanya’s title loss to Strickland in September derailed those plans, but with ‘Tarzan’ surrendering the belt to Du Plessis, the stage appears to be set for their long-awaited clash to finally go down.
is Robert Whittaker vs. Sean Strickland the fight to make at middleweight?
With Strickland and Whittaker sitting at No. 1 and No. 3 in the middleweight rankings, respectively, it makes sense for the two former champions to meet in what would likely be a title eliminator.
Of course, much of that depends on when Israel Adesanya decides to make his return to the Octagon. Following his loss to Strickland last year, the ‘Stylebender’ took an extended hiatus from the fight game after establishing himself as the most active champ in UFC history.
Are Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker vs. Sean Strickland the fights to make at the top of a loaded middleweight division? Where does Jared Cannonier and the winner of next month’s scrap between Marvin Vettori and Brendan Allen fit in the picture? Perhaps we’ll know soon enough.