Dricus Du Plessis is the new middleweight champion and seems like he has a long line of opponents behind him now. Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev were already in the running for the  ‘185’ lbs title and now Robert Whittaker is also behind Du Plessis’s tail for the gold. The former champion seems to be willing to face ‘Stillknocks’ for a rematch.

After the victory, there was a notion among the fans that Sean Strickland was robbed of his title by the judges but Whittaker has some different thoughts. he believes that Du Plessis was a better fighter than night.

Robert Whittaker applauds Dricus Du Plessis’s tenacity

Dana White and Joe Rogan gave the match to Strickland, however, as per Robert Whittaker, Du Plessis won every round except one. The former champion states that ‘Stillknocks’ had that championship hunger which Strickland lacked and that was the prime reason for his defeat.

While having a conversation with ‘The MMA Hour’, Whittaker said “I didn’t really give him the props he was due, maybe. I saw a lot in that last fight of his against Sean Strickland. He really dug in. He really wanted it. He was a hungry guy.” 

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Whittaker further stated that Du Plessis was better prepared for the fight and the next time he won’t go easy on him “You need to be prepared for that sort of fight, you need to be prepared for that mentality, for that mindset when you’re fighting those sort of guys. Maybe I didn’t give that the gravity it deserved, because that is a powerful force. I’m sure I will not make that mistake again.“

The last time they locked horns in July, 2023, Du Plessis knocked Whittaker out of the park in the 2nd round. It was one of the biggest upsets of ‘Reaper’s career. However, it seems like that loss has not stopped Whittaker from advancing further. In another statement ‘Reaper’ called out Dana White for his double standards.

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Whittaker is not amused by Dana White’s opinion

As mentioned above, White stated that he thought Strickland won the fight and was surprised when Du Plessis clinched the victory. This was a rather controversial statement from the UFC CEO as this statement worked as kerosene for the already ignited fire.

Whittaker was totally against White’s statement. While having a conversation with the MMArcade podcast, he roared against his statement. “I don’t know why it’s controversial. I’ve seen a lot of other fighters and Dana White himself saying he didn’t think he [Du Plessis] won the fight yada yada yada, but my opinion, I thought he won the fight. I will say, and I don’t like blurring the lines, but I will say congratulations to Dricus because he wanted it.”

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With Whittaker’s callout, Dricus Du Plessis now has a bunch of fighters who want to lock horns against him. Who do you think should fight ‘Stillknocks’ first?