Robert Whittaker respects Dricus Du Plessis ’ willingness to fight him at UFC 290. Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) takes on Du Plessis (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) at UFC 290 on July 8 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Du Plessis is unbeaten in the UFC, a fresh face for middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and has already created a storyline with “The Last Stylebender” to get his opportunity at gold. Du Plessis has admitted that taking the Whittaker fight wasn’t the smart choice , but he wants to cement himself as No. 1 contender. “I think I read somewhere that he actually commented on that and saying, ‘I’m not here to do the smart thing, I’m here to fight,’” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast .
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How UFC 290 fight vs. Dricus Du Plessis fulfills Robert Whittaker’s ‘warrior spirit’ – MMA Junkie