Dan Hooker recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus du Plessis bout scheduled for UFC 290 in July. The announcement of the fight was made by UFC president Dana White.
Confirming that Whittaker and du Plessis will go head-to-head at the highly anticipated pay-per-view event on July 8th in Las Vegas. The victor of this matchup will earn the opportunity to challenge middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for the title.
Adesanya, who recently reclaimed his middleweight championship by defeating Alex Periera, will face his first challenger in just two months. Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who has previously suffered a loss to Adesanya.
He will square off against the rising UFC star du Plessis at UFC 290. The winner of this bout will earn a shot at the title against Adesanya.
Dan Hooker, a UFC lightweight veteran and a close friend of Israel Adesanya, has voiced his opinion on the upcoming fight between Robert Whittaker and du Plessis at UFC 290.
Dan Hooker feels Dricus Du Plessis made an error 😬
📰 https://t.co/Il4CA3224n pic.twitter.com/OLKXRfdiDa
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) May 16, 2023
According to Hooker, du Plessis has already proven himself to be a worthy contender for the middleweight title and doesn’t necessarily need to beat Whittaker to earn a shot at the belt. The emerging UFC star has an undefeated record of 5-0 since making his debut in the promotion.
“I don’t think Dricus had to beat Rob. I feel like he played that a little bit (wrong). Dricus probably could have got the title shot off of not fighting anyone. Who’s the next logical next step?” Hooker said. “I’m not saying he’s got no chance of beating Rob. I’m just saying it’s the toughest fight in the division, and he didn’t need to take that risk.
Dricus Du Plessis is hungry for Israel Adesanya
Israel and du Plessis appear to have animosity between them, as the champion and his fellow African-born UFC star Kamaru Usman were displeased with du Plessis’ remarks regarding who represents Africa.
Fans, including former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen, are eager to witness a grudge match between the two fighters. Adesanya has already beaten every fighter ranked above du Plessis and Sonnen believes that the South African contender should receive a title shot.
Sonnen expressed his thoughts on the title eliminator matchup in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
“We shouldn’t have made du Plessis vs. Whittaker… We should’ve made du Plessis vs. Adesanya… Izzy says, ‘I’m not going to fight anybody till I fight him.’ Izzy doesn’t care if he doesn’t beat Whittaker… Matter of fact, Izzy predicts Whittaker is going to beat du Plessis. Izzy doesn’t care if he’s coming off a loss… He’s going to fight him next.”
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