Dricus du Plessis says Robert Whittaker deserves a middleweight title fight, next fight, rematch against Sean Strickland and Australian results in Perth

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis says Australian Robert Whittaker is the man most deserving to face him next, but he has been “run over” by the company.

This comes after Australia endured a mixed night at UFC 305, with five of eight Australians suffering defeats – including crowd favourites Steve Erceg, Tai Tuivasa and Junior Tafa.

And although Australia's best female fighter Casey O'Neill won in front of a sell-out crowd at the RAC Arena – and both lightweight Tom Nolan and featherweight Jack Jenkins presented themselves as undeniable rising stars – it was perhaps the nation's first champion who claimed the biggest victory.

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After defending his UFC middleweight title against Israel Adesanya, du Plessis suggested that the next fight should be against Whittaker.

UFC President Dana White has already hinted that American Sean Strickland is next in line. Light heavyweight king Alex Pereira has also hinted on social media that he could return to the division.

Unthinkable a year ago, DDP has suddenly entered the discussion as the best middleweight of all time after defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth.

The victory, which came via fourth-round rear-naked choke, marked the first time in Adesanya's career that he was subjected to a submission that will undoubtedly land him in the Hall of Fame.

It also means that du Plessis has now beaten all three of the biggest names in the division – Adesanya, Whittaker and Strickland.

The UFC CEO has already hinted that former champion Strickland would be first in line for a rematch with DDP, as he knocked out the champion by five rounds in January when he lost the title.

Whittaker, on the other hand, was knocked out in the second round of his title elimination fight against DDP at UFC 290 last year.

Since then, however, Strickland has only earned a single point victory over Paulo Costa, while Bobby Knuckles also earned a point victory over Costa and then knocked out up-and-coming Russian fighter Ikram Aliskerov inside one round.

Whittaker is now scheduled to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 in the Middle East.

MORE: Adesanya's big reveal before emotional backstage appearance with DDP

But when asked which fighter most deserves to face him next, du Plessis didn't hesitate and replied: “Robert Whittaker.

“Robert Whittaker deserves the chance.

“I think he's finished.

“Sean Strickland’s only saving grace is the fact that he made the decision with me.

“That's it.

“So, yes, I think Robert Whittaker beat Costa in a more spectacular way than Strickland.

“Whittaker then stepped up to fight Khamzat, who retreated.

“So Whittaker fights, not a nobody, but a great fighter, Ikram.

“Amazing fighter, really good.

“Whittaker makes it look like he’s fighting an amateur.

“And what does he have in return? Nothing

“Then he says, 'OK, I'll fight Khamzat again.'

“And if he beats Khamzat, you won’t give him a title shot?

“So unfortunately he comes up short.

“But that’s not my fault.

“I will fight anyone.

“Strickland is the fight that people want to see right now and that’s what they’re going to get.

“But in my opinion, Whittaker is definitely the one who is getting ripped off.

“He definitely deserves more, but life isn't fair.”

Otherwise, there were many other bright spots for the Australians, including the return to form of Australia's best fighter O'Neill and victories for Jenkins and Nolan.

Jenkins in particular shone with his victory over Brazilian Herbert Burns in the third set.

However, it was a tough night for the biggest local stars: cult heavyweight Tuivasa suffered his fifth consecutive defeat and Erceg also suffered a technical knockout loss.

Just three months after challenging for the UFC flyweight title, Erceg was sensationally knocked down twice in the first round before being finished on the ground by New Zealander Kai Kara-France.

Kara-France, an Auckland native who also works as an NRL wrestling coach with the Warriors, knocked the Perth native down first with a brutal left punch and then, after he bravely got back to his feet, with a right punch.

He then attacked Erceg before the referee stopped the attack 56 seconds before the end of the first round.

Tuivasa, meanwhile, suffered a split decision loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

While two judges scored the fight 30-27 and 29-28 for Rozenstruik, a third official, Howie Booth, bizarrely scored the fight 30-27 for Tuivasa.

The scorecard was considered so bad that Booth was removed from his position as judge of the co-main event between Erceg and Kara-France.

Unfortunately for Tuivasa, the turning point seemed to come in the second round when he seriously injured his right leg while attempting to kick.

This allowed Rozenstruik to swarm out, throw a series of vicious punches and win the round with all the judges bar booths.

Queensland native Nolan, meanwhile, continued his exciting rise in the UFC's lightweight division by overcoming an illegal knee strike on the ground to score a convincing victory over American Alex Reyes.

Despite being knocked down in the first round and being kneed down – which led to the fight being stopped and Reyes being warned – Nolan recovered strongly and was able to take his rival down in the second round, almost forcing him to submit midway through the third round.

The fighter from Brisbane, known as “Big Train”, ultimately emerged victorious according to the scorecards of all three judges with 30-27, 30-37 and 329-28.

Nolan, a product of Dana White's Contender Series, suffered a surprise loss in his UFC debut but has since responded strongly with consecutive wins over Victor Martinez and Reyes.

Australia's top female fighter Casey O'Neill also returned to form with a convincing point victory worth $2.05 TAB, defeating Brazilian Luana Santos.

The result brings to an end some incredibly tough years for the Gold Coaster, who now lives in Las Vegas and has bravely recovered from a cruciate ligament injury and consecutive defeats in the Octagon.

Against Santos, O'Neill showed a strong performance throughout, winning on all three scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.