Robert Whittaker thinks a rematch with Dricus Du Plessis would play out much differently.
As for how their first encounter went down, Du Plessis shocked the world last summer with a standing TKO of the former champion. Du Plessis’ performance had earned him a title shot, which he’d later use to dethrone Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January.
Whittaker’s Still Got That ‘Animal’ When He Fights
On the other side, Whittaker looks to build himself back up at UFC 298 with a win over Paulo Costa. Coming off of a loss, ‘The Reaper’ says he’s got all the motivation he needs.
“It’s not that I lost [that hunger in my fights],” Whittaker said at the UFC 298 press conference. “Just because of the person that I am, I’m always an animal in a fight. I’m always ready to fight. You could jump me on my worst day and I’ll give you a good showing.
“It’s one of those things that when you fight for so long and you have so many changes in your life, sometimes all it takes is just loosening the reins a little bit.”
‘I Still Believe That I’m A Better Fighter Than He Is’
Despite being stopped by Du Plessis in two rounds, Whittaker maintains confidence that he’d come out on top more often than not against the newly crowned champion.
“When you fight these hungry dudes, Dricus is a hungry guy,” Whittaker continued. “You saw in his last fight and I think I underestimated that hunger. I still do believe I beat him 9 times out of 10. I still believe that I’m a better fighter than he is, that I have a better skillset than he does.
“But mate, I’ve got a big, strong guy that’s hungry and willing to leave it all there. You need to match that. I feel like I didn’t do that in that last fight. And yeah, it just made me really think a little bit.”
Do you agree with Robert Whittaker?
