Robert Whittaker has revealed he’s hoping that former middleweight champion Sean Strickland doesn’t get the next shot at the title against Dricus du Plessis, because he wants to fight him next instead.
“I can see them making that Izzy [Adesanya] fight [with du Plessis] because of the bad blood between them, because of South Africa and that whole story arc,” Whittaker said on his MMArcarde podcast.
“I can’t really see the UFC getting behind (Sean) Strickland again. I don’t think they loved him as a champ to begin with, so I don’t think they’re really gunning for that rematch. I don’t know.
“I’m kind of hoping Dricus gets Izzy in a sense, just so that I can fight Strickland.”
Whittaker is currently ranked No.3 in the division, two places behind Strickland, so a fight between the two would make sense if du Plessis vs. Adesanya is confirmed as the next title encounter at 185lbs.
The 33-year-old Whittaker is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Paulo Costa last month, and as things stand he’s still only ever been beaten by two fighters at 185lbs – the aforementioned du Plessis and Adesanya.
As for Strickland, he of course famously shocked the world by beating Adesanya to win the 185lb title last year, but has since lost out via split-decision to du Plessis back in January of this year.
