Israel Adesanya Favors Whittaker Against Du Plessis

Adesanya Gives Whittaker 70% Chance

Adesanya spoke on his next fight being in Sydney, Australia this September, “Before that, [September in Sydney] I was like, July. I tried to do Du Plessis in the f****** Death Star [Allegiant Stadium]." Adesanya was then asked what chances he thought Whittaker had to defeat Du Plessis in July, “This is the game we play, percentage, I"d say Rob [Whittaker] can probably finish him." Adesanya said before being reminded that Du Plessis recently had surgery to fix a sinus issue that reportedly was only allowing him to get 8% oxygen intake. Adesanya then took the opportunity to poke some fun at his South African rival by saying “Oooh" and then grabbing both of his nostrils and inhaling loudly.

Adesanya continued with his breakdown of the fight, “Let me see, I"d say with Rob, Rob can probably get him out of there in the second round or just beat him up for three rounds. Dricus" only chance is, I don"t like to say there"s no way because there"s always a way. He can"t outlast Rob, I think Rob will be faster than him, fitter than him, so yeah, he might just have to make it ugly, but Rob can also fight ugly as well. 70 [percent chance for Whittaker], I really want Dricus, maybe that"s why I"m being biased." Adesanya and Du Plessis recently traded barbs and statements when Du Plessis declared himself to be the African fighter.

Adesanya was then asked if it bothered him that he may have to fight Robert Whittaker in his backyard for the second time, “No, I think there"s another story there. It"s in a ‘new" city or state in Australia, another stadium I"m sure." Adesanya concluded by predicting the day of his next fight, “This one, it"ll be a nice day, it could be in Sydney, I like Sydney, it"ll be a nice Sun Shiny day." Adesanya is 2-0 against Whittaker, having defeated him for the title by a second-round KO at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia in October 2019. Adesanya later successfully defended his title against Whittaker via. Unanimous Decision in a very close fight at UFC 271 in February last year.

.@dricusduplessis praises "class act" @robwhittakermma head of #UFC290 🤝

"it's gonna be an honor sharing the cage with him."

🎥: https://t.co/6Zx1aE5hYM pic.twitter.com/HbfpKcchb8

— Submission Radio (@SubmissionRadio) May 23, 2023

Du Plessis is currently on a seven-fight win streak and is 5-0 in the UFC, his most recent outing was at UFC 285 in March this year when Du Plessis defeated Derek Brunson via. TKO in the second round. Whittaker on the other hand is 4-1 in his last fight and most recently defeated Marvin Vettori via. Unanimous Decision in September of last year. Whittaker hasn"t lost to anyone not named Israel Adesanya dating back to early 2014 against Stephen Thompson and that was at welterweight, since then Whittaker has gone on to win 13 of his next 15 fights.

Guess I’ll put the tools back down, once more into the the Fray. @ufc @UFC_AUSNZ pic.twitter.com/o5mMZatejF

— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) April 21, 2023

Who do you favor between Du Plessis and Whittaker, which fighter would you rather see Adesanya defend his title against? Let us know in the comments below!

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images