'It works'… Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya laugh at the way Dricus du Plessis fights
01/18/2025 06:59 AM
From Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva to Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo, UFC fans love it when former rivals bury the hatchet to become good friends.
This week, the MMA community has a new 'bromance' to smile about thanks to a fascinating collaboration between former UFC champions Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.
Ahead of the Kiwi's return to action in February, the two former rivals sat down for a hilarious conversation about one of their common foes – current middleweight king, Dricus Du Plessis.
Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya make light of DDP defeats
Whittaker and Adesanya have been training together ahead of The Last Stylebender's upcoming fight against Nassourdine Imavov on February 1, 2025.
Just one week after that Fight Night event in Saudi Arabia, the promotion returns to Australia for UFC 312 – headlined by DDP versus Sean Strickland – with the two common opponents sharing a giggle about the way the Du Plessis fights.
"If I'm going to give the edge to anyone, it would be Dricus in that fight," stated Israel Adesanya, via the MMArcade Podcast.
"Even though Sean will definitely try to walk him down again, the one thing about Dricus is [that he's] just so awkward.
"He would throw just to stop me in my tracks, I remember there was one when I sprawled on him and my head hit the matt, I tried to kick him [away] on the ground and I was like 'Get up' – I advanced, and straight away he just went [flailing his arms]."
Adesanya revealed that Du Plessis' awkward style constantly "stopped my momentum" and left him having to reset his striking stance at the end of each exchange – or as he put it…
"He's just weird man, he's like the best s*** fighter in the world, he's so good that I can't even fault him for it."
You can't fault the South African's style "because it works" noted Robert Whittaker, with the middleweights bursting into laughter as the Australian called Du Plessis a "b******" for beating them both.
"You know what I mean? I remember when I fought him in like the first 30 seconds I was like 'Dude, he's so slow' – but then I got punched in the face."
- STYLEBENDER: Adesanya reveals his new 'drastically changed' training regime ahead of UFC Saudi Arabia
Whittaker and Adesanya share early breakdown for UFC 312 title fight
Du Plessis rematches Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 312; and after a razor-close decision in their first fight, Whittaker is curious to see what -if any- adjustments Strickland can make.
"People will argue with me saying it was controversial anyway, and I thought so too, but that was when he was still champion, and he still lost a controversial [decision] to the challenger.
"I don't see Sean fighting any different way, that's how Sean fights and that's how Dricus fights – I don't know, maybe Dricus gets more takedowns because he had decent enough success with it, but honestly, I just don't see how Sean does anything different to get the victory."
Adesanya seemed interested in getting revenge for his title loss to Strickland, although he was keen to acknowledge that with "Imavov in my crosshairs, I haven't even looked past this fight.
"I'm in a different place in my career now, like when I got in the UFC, it was 'Fight as much as possible'… Now, I feel like I can enjoy these fights and new bodies like Imavov, I'm looking forward to this fight man."
Whittaker himself revealed that following his submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev he's "probably not going to jump back into it until June."
