Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya share candid takes on Dricus du Plessis: "I was like ‘he’s so slow’"

Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya shared their thoughts on the UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis. The 31-year-old South African fighter has been on a roll and is cruising on a ten-fight winning streak including victories over Whittaker and Adesanya.

Exchanging thoughts on various fighters, the duo eventually commented on their former opponent du Plessis' fighting style. Championship Rounds shared an excerpt of a video via MMArcade Podcast originally taken from Adesanya's YouTube channel.

Sharing his experience of sharing the octagon with du Plessis, Adesanya said:

"I remembered when I sprawled on him and like head hit the mat, I tried to kick him on the ground, I was like 'get up' and I advanced and instead he just went...and I had to stop my momentum and I had to reset. So, he's just weird man, he's the best sh*t fighter in the world."

Whittaker recalled his meeting with 'Stillknocks' inside the octagon and said:

"I remember when I fought him, first 30 seconds I was like, 'dude he's so slow.' But then I got punched in the face."

Check out Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya's thoughts on Dricus du Plessis below:

'The Reaper' took on 'Stillknocks' in a title eliminator bout at UFC 290 in July 2023 and sustained a second-round TKO loss. Meanwhile, Du Plessis defended his title for the first time against Adesanya by winning the showdown via a fourth-round submission at UFC 305 in August 2024.

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Israel Adesanya celebrates his bonhomie with former foe Robert Whittaker in an X post

Israel Adesanya ruled the UFC middleweight division for years after winning the title from Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 and dropping it to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Whittaker locked horns with 'The Last Stylebender' in a rematch for the title at UFC 271 in yet another losing cause.

Having fought twice with each other in the past, the duo has recently moved past their rivalry. Adesanya took to X and posted pictures and a video clip showing the duo training together. The caption of the post read:

"New year, new friends."