Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa poses during a previous weigh in. Photo: AFP

UFC 290: Dricus Du Plessis vs Robert Whittaker start time

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 next weekend.

by James Richardson

29-06-2023 14:55

in MMA

Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa poses during a previous weigh in. Photo: AFP

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 next weekend.

ALSO READ: Israel Adesanya wants to whoop Dricus du Plessis’ ass in South Africa

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

ALSO READ: Irish fighter says he’d ‘kick the sh*t out of Jake Paul for free’

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

ALSO READ: What Is the Future For Top African UFC Stars?

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.

ALSO READ: Israel Adesanya is ‘rooting for Dricus’ to win contender’s bout

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

Dricus du Plessis — Dricus Du Plessis punches Brad Tavares in their Middleweight bout at UFC 276 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. (Photo by Alejandro Salazar/PxImages)

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.

ALSO READ: Israel Adesanya is the UFC’s most Googled star in 2023

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.

ALSO READ: How Cameron Saaiman fell in love with MM

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 04:00 on the morning of 10 July 2023. Set your clocks now.

Compatriot and fellow

UFC 290 fight card

Details of fights subject to change.

MAIN EVENT: Alexander Volkanovski vs Yair Rodriguez – for UFC featherweight title
Brandon Moreno vs Alexandre Pantoja – for UFC flyweight title
Robert Whittaker vs Dricus du Plessis
Jalin Turner vs Dan Hooker
Bo Nickal vs Tresean Gore

Preliminary card