Dricus Du Plessis the underdog for UFC 290 battle with Robert Whittaker

South African MMA star Dricus Du Plessis will put his unbeaten record in the UFC on the line when he takes on No 2 ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.

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Du Plessis appears to have trash-talked his way into the eliminator as his comments about wanting to be a true African champ irked Nigerian-born New Zealand fighter Israel Adesanya.

Stillknocks is the underdog

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Adesanya made headlines when he issued a fiery response in the wake of regaining the UFC middleweight strap.

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UFC powers that be have never been shy about ignoring the rankings to put on a blockbuster fight but despite Adesanya clearly wanting to get Dricus du Plessis next, they have opted to give the TEAM CIT fighter a championship contenders match against Whittaker.

Whittaker is a test of Du Plessis’ big fight aptitude, and victory over the American would give him every right to say that he earned his shot at Adesanya.

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However, according to the current odds, Du Plessis is the rank outsider to secure victory over the UFC veteran.

Being offered at 2.6 by Hollywoodbets against a slender 0.25 for the Whittaker win, it is clear that few punters have been eager to back Dricus du Plessis to date. (www.bottomlineequipment.com)

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What time and date is Dricus du Plessis vs Robert Whittaker

One of the first fights confirmed for the UFC 290 event was Dricus du Plessis vs Robert Whittaker.

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It should be noted that all UFC event specifics are subject to change right up until the night of the fights.

The featherweight bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodríguez will headline UFC 290 which takes place on 9 July 2023 in Las Vegas.

ALSO READ: Du Plessis plans to be ‘greatest middleweight of all time’

Due to the time difference, the event’s live broadcast goes out in South Africa in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Dricus du Plessis will fight Robert Whittaker from around 04:40 on the morning of 10 July 2023. Set your clocks now.

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