Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker couldn’t help but laugh when assessing UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
The former rivals formed an unlikely duo when they recently spent time training together at Adesanya’s gym, City Kickboxing, in New Zealand. Both Adesanya and Whittaker recently have been finished by Du Plessis.
Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) defends his title in a rematch against Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC), which headlines UFC 312 Feb. 8 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC), who was submitted by Du Plessis in their title fight at UFC 305, gave his prediction and reflected on their fight.
“If I’m going to give the edge to anyone, it would be Dricus in that fight,” Adesanya said on the “MMArcade Podcast.” “Even though Sean will definitely try to walk him down again, the one thing about Dricus is (he’s) just so awkward. He would throw just to stop me in my tracks.
“I remembered when I sprawled on him and my head hit the mat. I tried to kick him on the ground and I was like, ‘Get up,’ and I advanced, and straight away he just went (swings an overhand). I had to stop, and it stopped my momentum. I had to reset. So, he’s just weird, man. He’s like the best sh*t fighter in the world. He’s so good. I can’t even fault him for it.”
Whittaker (27-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) can relate to Adesanya. He was stopped by Du Plessis in their title eliminator at UFC 290 and was just as surprised as Adesanya.
“Because it works,” Whittaker responded. “Bastard. I remember when I fought him, in the first 30 seconds I was like, ‘Dude, he’s so slow,’ but then I got punched in the face.”
Whittaker also picked Du Plessis to beat Strickland again.
“People will argue with me saying it was controversial anyway, and I thought so too, but that was when he was champion, and he still lost a controversial (decision) to the challenger,” Whittaker added. “What is going to happen differently in their next fight?
“Because I don’t see Sean fighting any different way. That’s how Sean fights, and that’s how Dricus fights. I don’t know, maybe Dricus gets more takedowns because he had decent enough success with it, but honestly, I don’t see how Sean does anything different to eek out the victory.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.
