Few people are better equipped to analyze the upcoming UFC middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev than Robert Whittaker.
The former 185-pound champion Whittaker (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) has shared the Octagon with both men in the past two years. He was stopped in the second round by Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) at UFC 290, shortly before the South African went on to capture the title in his next bout.
"The Reaper" also suffered a loss to Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) earlier this year when the Chechen contender caught him in a brutal face crank submission.
With Chimaev set to challenge Du Plessis for the belt in the UFC 319 main event next month, Whittaker recently shared his thoughts on how the fight could play out.
"Honestly, I have to say Dricus would be a favorite," Whittaker said during an interview with FOX Sports Australia. "I think I'm leaning towards Dricus. The whole thing can be summed up – Chimaev will take him down. It's will he finish him before he gets back up? That's the million-dollar question because if he doesn't finish him on the ground, I think he loses."
Whittaker is set to return to action later this month when he takes on Reinier de Ridder (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the main event at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 26.
De Ridder, a former two-division champion in ONE Championship, has made a spectacular start to his UFC career—finishing all three of his opponents inside the Octagon.
Whittaker says he’s fully prepared for the challenge.
“I'm going to come in and try and land a missile on him,” said the former middleweight champion. “Within the first 30 seconds, I'm going to try and take his head off. Hopefully it works.”
Whittaker made his UFC debut in 2012 after winning The Ultimate Fighter: Smashes. The New Zealand-born veteran will make his 24th walk to the Octagon in Abu Dhabi, and he says he’s started to map out his exit strategy from the fight game.
"Four fights, I see the light at the end of the tunnel," Whittaker said on his future. "I want four more. I see the stepping stones needed to do what I want to do. Four fights gets me into that title shot, gets me into a position to finish on top, to have that fairytale ending. So, I'm working towards it."
