Robert Whittaker claims he now knows what he “needs to do to beat” Dricus Du Plessis after UFC 305

Robert Whittaker believes he has the blueprint to beating Dricus Du Plessis after UFC 305.

Whittaker and Du Plessis fought back in July of 2023 at UFC 290 and it was the South African who won by second-round stoppage. Since then, Whittaker has won back-to-back fights while Du Plessis has become the middleweight champion and coming off a submission win over Israel Adesanya to defend his belt for the first time.

Although Du Plessis got the win, Whittaker believes he saw something that gives him confidence ahead of a potential rematch.

“He’s tough as nails, he’s so awkward and cumbersome to watch but he gets it done, he makes it work. He runs at you throwing punches like you stole something from him and it works. Technically, nothing changes from when he’s tired to not tired, he’s just a little faster. There’s a method to his madness. He’s a weapon and a true warrior… I think Adesanya looked outstanding, Dricus is just a warrior and I understand what you need to do to beat him (now), you need to be ready to leave it all there, like, you need to be ready to die to beat him,” Whittaker said on MMArcade podcast.

However, Robert Whittaker is set to take on Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 on October 26, so he will need to win that fight before he can get the rematch. But, Dricus Du Plessis has said he thinks Whittaker should get the next title shot, which ‘The Reaper’ agrees with, but he knows he needs to get past Chimaev first.

“I think so too. But let’s be honest, I’ve got to get through Chimaev. Chimaev is the biggest thing in the middleweight division right now so I’ve got to stay locked in and on task and worry about where the cards fall afterward,” Whittaker stated.

Robert Whittaker is 26-7 as a pro and coming off the first-round knockout win over Ikram Aliskerov.