“I will go into the octagon to finish the fight ahead of schedule,” the South African fighter said in an interview with The Schmo. “If you look at my record, you will see that I am not chasing decisions. I’m going to finish Robert Whittaker, and I think it’s going to be a hell of a fight. Each of us has a beast inside, so let’s see whose beast is hungrier and stronger. I’m sure it will be me”
The bout between Robert Whittaker and Drykus Du Plessis will be part of UFC 290 on July 8 in Las Vegas, with the winner of the fight on September 9 at UFC 293 in Sydney going to challenge reigning division champion Israel Adesanya.
Dricus Du Plessis, 29, is undefeated in the UFC, where he has won five fights in a row, finishing last with a second-round TKO against Derek Brunson.
Robert Whittaker, 32, got his career back on track last September with a three-round unanimous decision over Marvin Vettori. Seven months earlier, the Australian made an unsuccessful attempt to take the championship belt from Israel Adesanya, losing to the Nigerian by unanimous decision in five rounds.