Dricos du Plessis believes that Robert Whitaker’s fight is tougher than Israel Adesanya’s.
Du Plessis is set to face Whittaker at UFC 290 in an elimination match for the middleweight title where he will face the winner, Stylebender later this year. Although Adesaya wanted to face Du Plessis next, the UFC booked the South African to face Whittaker first which he knows is a tough task.
Not only does Du Plessis expect a tough fight, but he thinks Whittaker is a tougher fight than Adesanya.
“If you keep going about how great they are. In terms of how good they are, there really isn’t much that separates them, they’re both great athletes, and they’ve both done amazing things in the sport,” du Plessis told Submission Radio. “Israel Adesanya is very clean and technical especially when it comes to the hitting area of the game and not putting down. He’s tall and skinny and he uses it well. Great mentality. And then of course Rob with the same qualities. He’s a bit smaller but again you have Rob with amazing pace, he’s got the strength to add to that and he’s a player Multi-skilled He can grapple, he can grapple, he can whack, wherever you’re going to fight Rob it’s not going to be easy.
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“It won’t be like, if I get him to the ground it’s over. Am I going to defend? No,” du Plessis continued. “He can do everything so I think they’re both really good in their own right. As far as preparation goes with Adesanya, there’s more planned to defeat Adesanya, I think. Although he’s very good and very hard at executing that scheme. I think there’s a way.” Clear victory over Adesanya He is very good at not giving opponents their way.
“With Whitaker, the path to victory is not so simple. You have to catch him, that’s ultimately what it’s going to be like, you have to hold Robert Whitaker, or you have to beat him, it’s hard to make him tired, and getting him to quit is almost impossible. So, I think Whittaker (is) the hardest fight, as Adesanya (is) a lot more technical,” concluded du Plessis.
With Dricus Du Plessis believing Robert Whitaker is the easier fight, if he raises his hand at UFC 290, the South African is confident he will be able to defeat Israel Adesanya. Still, getting over Whitaker would be easier said than done for Duplessis.
What do you think about Dracus du Plessis saying Robert Whitaker is a tougher fight than Israel Adesanya?