"Dricus has made me question everything” - Robert Whittaker gets brutally honest on Belal Muhammad’s striking with Dricus du Plessis reference

Belal Muhammad is set to defend his welterweight title against surging contender Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 on May 10. Muhammad is one of the division's best wrestlers, while Della Maddalena is viewed as one of the best boxers at 170 pounds. But ahead of the bout, the welterweight king has declared that he will not shoot a takedown during the fight, with the goal of proving that he is the better striker of the two.

Former champion Robert Whittaker recently broke down how Muhammad's striking matched up against Della Maddalena's. During his analysis, 'The Reaper' pointed to former opponent and current middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and explained that sometimes the most effective striking is not the prettiest nor most technically sound.

Du Plessis' rise to the top of the sport has continued to mystify some fighters, such as Whittaker and Israel Adesanya, who referred to 'Stillknocks' as "the best s**t fighter in the world" during a recent interview.

Whittaker's breakdown for Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena came during a recent appearance on Australian TV show, mainevent, where he said:

"[Muhammad's] striking is made better by the fact that he mixes everything up so well... It all lends itself to making his striking better than I think it is technically if you were just standing with him.... Honestly, Dricus has made me question everything about striking in MMA to date."

He added:

"If you're landing shots does it really matter what it looks like?... Belal's angles on his strikes when he fought Leon [Edwards]... Belal's angles on his striking, his movements, they were crazy."

Catch Robert Whittaker discuss Belal Muhammad's striking prowess below (5:22):

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Belal Muhammad has strong words about his plans for Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315

UFC 315 takes place in Quebec, Canada, and will play host to two title fights on the main card. Valentina Shevchenko will put her flyweight title on the line against Manon Fiorot in the co-main event, before Belal Muhammad faces Jack Della Maddalena in the headlining bout.

'Remember the Name' will be defending his title for the first time, and is taking his upcoming opponent extremely seriously. During his pre-fight media day appearance, the 170-pound champion shared his plans for fight night, saying:

"I think I'm gonna go in there and break him... We're not defending the belt, we're fighting for the belt again... I'm the hunter. I want Jack's record, I want Jack's streak, I want Jack's soul."

Check out Belal Muhammad's comments below: