Better check with “Killa Gorilla” on that one.
Robert Whittaker is playing matchmaker.
The former UFC middleweight champion, fresh off his unanimous decision victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in Anaheim, wants current division kingpin Dricus Du Plessis to battle former 185-pound titleholder Israel Adesanya.
For entirely selfish purposes.
“I can see them making that Izzy fight because of the bad blood between them, because of South Africa and that whole story arc,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “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’m kind of hoping Dricus gets Izzy in a sense, just so that I can fight Strickland.”
Whittaker is ranked two spots below Strickland at No. 3.
The promotion has yet to pull the trigger on the Du Plessis vs. Adesanya title fight, which does have an existing storyline already built in. It may depend on how much credence matchmakers give to this argument from the still-bitter Strickland.
Hopefully we’ll get some answers in the next few weeks.