UFC 290 main card featured a middleweight number one contender match between Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis.
Robert Whittaker (24-7 MMA) was returning to the Octagon for the first time since September of 2022 in Paris, where he had earned a lopsided decision victory over Marvin Vettori. ‘The Reaper’ was looking to score a third fight with reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya with a dominant win this evening.
Meanwhile, Dricus Du Plessis (20-2 MMA) entered tonight’s contest sporting a seven-fight win streak, his most previous being a TKO victory over Derek Brunson back in March. Prior to that, the South African was coming off a submission win over Darren Till at last year’s UFC 282 event.
Tonight’s ‘Whittaker vs. Du Plessis’ matchup proved to be a coming out party for Dricus Du Plessis. The South African fighter was able to get Robert Whittaker to the ground in round one and landed some heavy ground and pound to close out the round. Then, in round two, ‘DDP’ dropped ‘The Reaper’ with a right hand. Whittaker scrambled back to his feet but only to be greeted by a huge flurry from Du Plessis. After some big shots, the referee stepped in and called a stop to the fight.
Official UFC 290 Result: Dricus Du Plessis def. Robert Whittaker via TKO in Round 2
Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis’ below:
Post-fight reactions to Dricus Du Plessis defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290:
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