Whittaker vs Plessis

Who won Whittaker vs Plessis?

Dricus Du Plessis beat Robert Whittaker by knockout in the 2nd round during the main card of UFC 290, on Saturday 8th July 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Whittaker vs Plessis stats

Robert Whittaker stepped into the octagon with a record of 24 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Dricus Du Plessis made his way to the cage with a record of 19 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by knock out and 10 by submission.

Robert Whittaker's UFC record stood at 16-5-0, while Dricus Du Plessis' came in at 7-0-0.

The stats suggested Plessis had a slight advantage in power over Whittaker, with a 42% knock out percentage over Whittaker's 38%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Plessis had a massive advantage over Whittaker, boasting a 53% submission rate over Whittaker's 21%.

Robert Whittaker was the older man by 3 years, at 33 years old.

Plessis had a height advantage of 1 inch over Whittaker. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Whittaker was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 9 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 4 years and 4 months earlier than Plessis, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 37 more professional rounds, 84 to Plessis' 47.

Whittaker vs Plessis form

Robert Whittaker had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night Paris on 3rd September 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Previous to that, he had lost to Israel Adesanya at UFC 271 on 12th February 2022 by unanimous decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Toyota Center, Houston, United States.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24 on 17th April 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated Jared Cannonier at UFC 254 on 24th October 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

He was victorious against Darren Till at UFC Fight Island 3 on 25th July 2020 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi.

Plessis had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3opponents and going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Derek Brunson at UFC 285 on 4th March 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Darren Till at UFC 282 on 10th December 2022 by submission in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Brad Tavares at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he was victorious against Trevin Giles at UFC 264 on 10th July 2021 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had won against Markus Perez at UFC Fight Island 5 on 10th October 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC Fight Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Dricus Du Plessis had been fighting more than Robert Whittaker.

Going to this contest, Robert Whittaker had last fought 1 year, 7 months and 22 days ago, while Dricus Du Plessis' last outing had been 1 year, 1 month and 21 days ago.

Whittaker's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 9 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 21 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.2 rounds on average.

Plessis' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 6 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Whittaker vs Plessis?

Robert Whittaker was a 7/25 (-360) favourite going into the contest, while Dricus Du Plessis made his way into the ring at 11/4 (+280) with oddsmakers.