Dricus Du Plessis understands that he is fighting a monster in Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, and he agrees it might not be the smart move. But as he told “Submission Radio,” this is why he became a fighter.
UFC 290 To Be Crowning Moment For Dricus Du Plessis
Top UFC middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career.
Du Plessis will take on former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 on July 8 from Las Vegas and the T-Mobile Arena. The bout is one of the featured attractions to the event, which concludes International Fight Week.
Recently, Du Plessis appeared on “Submission Radio” to discuss why he took the fight and how some are saying it was not a ‘smart move’ by him.
“A lot of people are saying it’s not the smart move to be fighting Whitaker. 100 percent I agree with that. I agree, it’s not the smart move. But I’m not here to be smart.
Otherwise, I would’ve stayed in school and finished my studies and had to go work at a bank or wore a suit to work every day and did some corporate life. But that’s not the life I chose. I chose to be a warrior. I chose to be an entertainer.
And at the end of the day, I’m a fighter, and that’s what I do. I fight. I don’t want to get that title shot based on some hype created by, I don’t even know what… some guy who has the title who’s behaving like a little child and overreacting, and now the fight is happening because of hype.
I want to deserve my title shot. I don’t want to be handed a title shot. I’m gonna deserve my belt. And that’s why I wanted that Whittaker fight.”
Dricus Du Plessis on fighting Robert Whittaker
Du Plessis Focused On Whittaker, Not Israel Adesanya
The winner between Du Plessis and Whittaker will be the No. 1 contender to reigning champion Israel Adesanya. And while that is the ultimate goal, Du Plessis isn’t putting any thought on that yet.
“I’m not even thinking about that, to be honest. Now, what will happen will happen. At the end of the day, my focus is on Robert Whittaker. I’m not even considering the fact that there’s a fight eight weeks or nine weeks after.
It’s not a concern to me. We’ll face that bridge when we get there. I can’t be focusing or giving any percentage of my thought on something like that. My one hundred percent of my focus is fighting Robert Whitaker, winning this fight and doing it in spectacular fashion, earning that title shot.
And then we’ll worry about what comes next. Right now, there’s not a single percentage of my mind that’s focusing at all on the fight after this. This is my 100% focus, and that’s the way it should be. Focus on the task at hand, and this will be the next step.”
Dricus Du Plessis on fighting Israel Adesanya
