Robert Whittaker thinks it’s only right for Dricus Du Plessis to get the next title shot.
Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) cemented himself as No. 1 contender after stopping Whittaker by Round 2 TKO at UFC 290. But when he couldn’t make a quick turnaround for UFC 293, the promotion handed Sean Strickland the title shot against then champion Israel Adesanya. Strickland upset Adesanya to claim the belt.
But Du Plessis would find himself passed up again. The UFC opted to dub Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru Usman at UFC 294 as a No. 1 contender fight. Fortunately for Du Plessis, the victorious Chimaev injured his hand in the fight which finally led to him getting his title shot against Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) in the UFC 297 headliner Jan. 20 in Toronto.
“It kind of cleared a lot of things up because the division is in a really crazy spot,” Whittaker told Submission Radio. “There’s so many fighters that are already busy or that are inactive or that are just sitting on sidelines, and with the win/losses that we’ve had in the top five, it’s just shuffled everything up. And then you have Chimaev and Usman coming in and fighting for a title shot, allegedly, just shaking everything up
“But to hear Dricus is getting the title shot with Sean, I think it’s fair because he wasn’t in a lot of the talks for the next title shot with Sean. And where did it leave him? Where did that leave him? Props to him. He did beat me, and I think that earns something.”
Whittaker (25-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) thinks timing has had a lot to do with the recent title fights in the middleweight division.
“I guess that’s the moral of the story,” Whittaker said. “The division, especially top five, and the stakes that we play at, is just rife with opportunity, and Sean is a perfect example of being ready and in the right place at the right time, and obviously having the skills to back it up.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
