Robert Whittaker is officially back. In a recent announcement, UFC president Dana White made a last-minute addition to the set of bouts he announced yesterday. White said that the UFC had finalized for former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker to face rising contender Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290 on July 8.

White also added that this fight could have huge title fight implications in the 185 lbs division, implying that the winner would face Israel Adesanya for the title later this year in Sydney, Australia.

The bout came as a surprise to many fans who were expecting Du Plessis to face Adesanya next, as the pair had been going at each other on social media. However, the UFC brass decided to give the #6 ranked contender a test of fire against ‘The Reaper’ before facing the champion.

Former champion Robert Whittaker had a welcome response to the news and took to social media to share his reaction.

Robert Whittaker reacts to Dricus Du Plessis fight news

Robert Whittaker has been out of action since his dominant win over Marvin Vettori in September last year. Try as he might, he could not fight at UFC 284 in Australia thanks to the failed negotiations between UFC and Paulo Costa.

Now, after a frustrating and long wait, ‘Bobby Knuckles’ has a date, location, and opponent for his next outing. An elated Whittaker took to Twitter and wrote, “Guess I’ll put the tools back down, once more into the the Fray.”

Whittaker has already fought Adesanya and lost twice. However, he has not given up on winning back his title. The 32-year-old recently stated his confidence in beating Adesanya if they fought a third time.

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Fans on Twitter also shared their excitement in response to the news. They gave their reactions and predictions for the fight in the comments under Whittaker’s tweet.

Fans react to Whittaker vs. Du Plessis fight announcement

The majority of the fans expect Whittaker to get the job done against the South African. They also think he will earn a second shot at Adesanya’s title with a win over Du Plessis.

However, one fan thinks Du Plessis will hand Whittaker his first non-title fight loss in the middleweight division.

Robert Whittaker is one of the greatest middleweights in the history of the UFC. He has multiple title defenses and has beaten every opponent not named Israel Adesanya. Do you think he can keep the streak going against Du Plessis? What are your predictions for this fight?

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Let us know in the comments below.