Morning Report: Robert Whittaker thought ‘weird little scuffle’ between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis was ‘staged’
Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis gave fans a sneak peek of their upcoming UFC middleweight title fight this past Saturday.
Last Friday, the UFC held a seasonal press conference to close out 2023 and build hype for the first three pay-per-view event title fight headliner bouts of 2024. UFC 297 kicks off the upcoming year and concludes with the 185-pound crown on the line between reigning champion Strickland and top contender Du Plessis on Jan. 20.
The pair traded some heated verbal exchanges at the press conference, which snowballed to a somewhat surprising extent before boiling over at UFC 296. Bafflingly — and foolishly — Strickland and Du Plessis were seated next to each other in the Las Vegas crowd and ultimately broke out into a brawl right after they were shown on the broadcast. At the press conference the day before, the former champion and last opponent of Du Plessis’, Robert Whittaker, caught some strays from the current champion and when seeing the altercation couldn’t feel a little suspicious of its legitimacy.
“I thought it was staged, mate, honestly,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “Because it was weird. It was weird the way it happened. You saw the way Strickland was like, ‘Move aside, please.’ Makes sense, but then he jumps in like WWE style. The way he was punching, the way he was kind of like, I don’t know, fake punching to the back of Dricus.
“Maybe it was just for entertainment, and which case, you can’t really give him anything for it. I don’t know. It’s a bit silly. He’s the champ.”
Unfortunately for Whittaker, Du Plessis used him as the catalyst for his impending title shot by extending his current winning streak to eight (six in UFC, 20-2 overall) with a second-round TKO at UFC 290 in July. “The Reaper” hasn’t fought since but is targeting a comeback in early 2024 that can get him back in the mix with the division freshened up atop the title scene.
At middleweight, Whittaker has largely been flawless against most, as his only losses are to his fellow former champion Israel Adesanya and now Du Plessis. Known for his great striking game, the Australian has shown a versatile game to put him amongst the 185-pound elite, which is why Strickland’s comments on Friday caught him off guard.
“It was a weird little scuffle, I am gonna say,” Whittaker said. “I also heard him talking smack about me in the press conference. I don’t think it was smack talk, to be honest. He just off-commented how — downplayed my abilities. I don’t expect him to pump tires, to be honest, and yeah, I don’t think I’m as one-dimensional as he says. I think my blitz is a strong part of my game, but I got other tricks.
“It was nothing really. I’m not gonna say I like him but I don’t hate him because he’s kind of holistically against everybody, you know what I mean? He’s holistically rude. He’s not singling out certain people or genres or races or colors, he’s just kinda tellin’ off everyone (laughs). Being rude to everyone. I don’t hate that. But I don’t know, I think that fight looked a little staged. Staged on Strickland’s behalf, I don’t think Dricus got the memo (laughs).”
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VIDEO STEW
The MMA Hour.
2023 PFL Championship Epilogue.
MORNING MUSIC
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Saved.
Why?
Plz someone explain to me
— Umar Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) December 18, 2023
Why no one calls my name for fight ?
Bantamweight in @ufc ?
♂️
Respect.
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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Itsuki Hirata (6-2) vs. Ayaka Miura (12-5); ONE 165, Jan. 28
Danny Kingad (15-3) vs. Yuya Wakamatsu (16-6); ONE 165, Jan. 28
Rinya Nakamura (8-0) vs. Brady Hiestand (7-2); UFC 298, Feb. 17
Val Woodburn (7-1) vs. Oban Elliott (9-2); UFC 298, Feb. 17
Jarred Brooks (20-2) vs. Joshua Pacio (21-4); ONE 166, March 1
Arjan Bhullar (11-2) vs. Amir Aliakbari (13-3); ONE 166, March 1
FINAL THOUGHTS
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