Robert Whittaker (photo via UFC / YouTube)

By Kelsey Mowatt

Robert Whittaker is a heavy favorite to record another victory this Saturday at UFC 290. But, the former middleweight champ insists the worst thing he could do, would be to underestimate his opponent, Dricus Du Plessis.

Whittaker will battle Du Plessis on the main card of the July 8th event, and the winner is expected to advance to a title fight with champion, Israel Adesanya. Although Du Plessis (19-2) is riding a seven-fight winning streak, which includes victories over the likes of Darren Till and Derek Brunson, the South African is a sizeable underdog on the betting lines.

Despite the consensus narrative that Whittaker (24-5) will halt the rise of Du Plessis, the Australian-based fighter recently scoffed at the idea of anyone, underestimating the contender (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“I don’t understand anybody who underestimates their opponents,” Whittaker said while talking with the media on Wednesday. “We’re in the fight game, in the best company in the world with the best fighters in the world. I don’t understand where you think every single one of those guys in the division isn’t going to knock your block off. It just seems a little silly…”

Depending on the betting line you look at, Whittaker is a favorite to win the contest with odds ranging from -400 to -435.

“Definitely, he’s the most dangerous fight to date, and that’s because he’s the one that’s unwritten,” Whittaker said. “Everything in hindsight is easy, but yeah, he’s the unknown. And I understand the dangers he presents. Not only is he a well-rounded athlete, and physically he’s a big guy, he’s not a big fellow. He has nothing to lose. Everyone has already washed him. He’s the underdog in this fight. Tell me something more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose, everything to gain.”

Heading into Saturday’s action, Du Plessis is ranked #5 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings and Whittaker is #2.

The latter is coming off a unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori in September, which followed a decision loss to Adesanya in February 2022.

UFC 290 will be hosted by the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski will battle interim champ, Yair Rodriguez.