Barry Recks
It’s Australia vs South Africa in his highly intriguing middleweight bout in the undercard of UFC 290. Robert Whittaker is a former champion with aspirations to be back on top again. Dricus du Plessis, on the other hand, is still just on the rise. Who gets the all-important victory here?
Read on for more about this Robert Whittaker vs Dricus du Plessis bout, including our predictions, picks, and the latest odds to win the fight, as brought to you by JefeBet. Also, don’t forget to check out the other MMA content here to help you make the best betting decisions.
Betting Preview for UFC 290 Featuring Robert Whittaker vs Dricus du Plessis on Saturday, July 8, 2023
- Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
- When: Saturday, July 8, 2023, 10 PM E.T.
- Odds: Robert Whittaker (-140) vs Dricus du Plessis (+310)
All odds are provided by DraftKings.
Betting on Robert Whittaker (-410s on DraftKings)
- Odds: -410
- Record: 25-6-0
- Age: 32
- Height: 6′ 0″
- Weight: 186.00 LB
- Reach: 73.5 in
Ranked No. 2 in the middleweight division of the UFC, Whittaker can almost taste another shot at at title fight. Whittaker is coming off a unanimous decision win against Marvin Vettori last September which was a great way for him to recover from his loss to Isreal Adesanya in February of last year via UD.
It was his second loss to Adesanya. Not including fights against Adesanya, Whittaker would have a clean record in the UFC since 2014. That’s a 13-0 slate. Overall in his career, Whittaker has 10 knockout victories against two KO losses. He also has a 5-1 submission record. He has excellent cardio, as evidenced by the fact that 38 percent of his fights in the UFC had gone to the scorecards, including all of his last five.
Betting on Dricus du Plessis (+310 on DraftKings)
- Odds: +310
- Record: 19-2-0
- Age: 29
- Height: 6′ 1″
- Weight: 185.00 LB
- Reach: 76 in
Du Plessis is a dangerous man inside the Octagon, and he’s very much aware of that. The rising middleweight star has yet to lose in the UFC, having racked up five wins in a row since entering the organization in 2020. The South African destroyed Derek Brunson just last March, needing just two rounds to score a TKO win. Du Plessis showered Brunson with 71 strikes while absorbing only 37.
Thus far in his UFC career, du Plessis is averaging 6.72 strikes landed per minute with 55 percent significant ones. He could be as dangerous — if not more — with his grappling. Du Plessis is averaging 2.83 UFC takedowns per 15 minutes and has a total of 10 submissions to his name against just a submission loss in his career overall.
El Jefe’s Prediction on Robert Whittaker vs Dricus du Plessis
This is not going to be an easy fight for both fighters. Whittaker is experienced and has practically seen it all in the UFC. But du Plessis just looks so promising, with his full potential yet to be reached. Du Plessis takes care of business on Saturday by making Whittaker feel his power and landing some good combos that will rock the Australian.
Prediction:
Dricus du Plessis wins via knockout.
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