Whittaker: Dricus du Plessis’ ‘Really Awkward’ Style Might Be His Best Weapon!

Robert Whittaker will be one of the most invested parties in UFC 305’s main event this Saturday night.

The UFC middleweight title once held by “The Reaper” will be on the line as the current champion Dricus du Plessis defends against former two-time title holder Israel Adesanya. Unfortunately for Whittaker, his title reign ended at the hands of Adesanya in October 2019 before he fell short to du Plessis in July 2023.

Whittaker, 33, is likely on the cusp of a shot at redemption against either with his upcoming UFC 308 tilt against Khamzat Chimaev in October. A win would extend his winning streak to three (27-7 record).

First, the Kiwi will sit back and assess the action with the rest of us, and having fought both, he sees the matchup as essentially a coin flip.

“If I had to make a pick, I would say there’s a 50 percent chance — this is my confidence here, ‘kay? They’re 50-50 odds,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “That’s how much I think either one could sway. I think there’s a 50 percent chance ‘Izzy’ kind of keeps him at the end of his jab, utilizes that spacing, doesn’t get his back put against the fence, defends a takedown, but ultimately wins by decision.

“Then I think there’s a 50 percent chance Dricus does what he did to [Sean] Strickland. Pushes into that space, takes him down, wears him out, turns it to a dog fight. Doesn’t get a finish but drags it out to the point where he is still the remaining champion. 50-50 my money’s on those two kinds of results/methods.

“Probably Dricus by decision,” he concluded with a pick.

A common theme throughout du Plessis’ nine-fight winning streak (21-2 overall, 7-0 in UFC) has been his foes underestimating him, including Whittaker. The former champion has admitted as much on numerous occasions since the defeat and did so again before this upcoming fight.

Despite proving everyone wrong with each win en route to the title, du Plessis remains slept on and the opening odds reflected that again as he was an underdog against Adesanya at +144 to Adesanya’s -186 favorite, per BestFightOdds. The window has since closed to -115 for Adesanya and -105 for du Plessis, according to BetOnline.ag.

Ultimately, Whittaker just sees this as a strength for “StillKnocks.”

“To a degree. I was victim of that, right?” Whittaker said. “He’s an awkward-looking dude, man (laughs). He fights really awkward. Even when you’re in there with him I thought it was awkward. I felt like he was slow and cumbersome. Then he punched me in the face (laughs).

“That might be one of his greatest weapons. Just to fly under the radar to make people think he’s not up to scuff then you get in there with you and he beats you.

“That’s the end of the good talking points about those guys,” he concluded. “Screw those guys. That’s as far as I’m going.”