Israel Adesanya has not fought since he lost his title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Nonetheless, ‘The Last Stylebender’ remains one of the biggest superstars in the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Throughout his combat sports career, the Nigerian-born Kiwi had rivalries with some of the biggest names in combat sports.
In his recent appearance on comedian Theo Von’s podcast, This Past Weekend, Adesanya revealed some interesting details about fight details concerning his rival.
Israel Adesanya talks on canceled UFC 300 bout
After Dricus du Plessis became the middleweight champion with a closely contested split decision victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 297, the South African middleweight called out Israel Adesanya. The Kiwi responded on social media acknowledging the callout and a potential title fight at UFC 300 in the main event.
However, that did not transpire for UFC 300 and Adesanya explained what transpired behind the scenes on Theo Von’s podcast. “They (Team Dricus du Plessis) didn’t want it, but you know, they just fought Strickland, so maybe he had a little bit of niggly injuries and stuff”, Adesanya revealed as to why he was not announced as the headliner for UFC 300.
Israel Adesanya says Dricus du Plessis rejected UFC’s offer to headline UFC 300 😯 pic.twitter.com/PPEm62RPZI
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) February 27, 2024
The UFC recently announced that Jamahal Hill and Alex Pereira will be fighting for the light heavyweight title in the UFC 300 main event. Adesanya was also rumoured to fight Pereira for the Brazilian’s title at UFC 300.
Pereira had called out Adesanya after he defeated Jiri Prochazka to become the light heavyweight champion at UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. Nonetheless, the UFC CEO did not agree with the idea.
Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis feud explained
Israel Adesanya’s beef with Dricus du Plessis started when the South African claimed to be the ‘real African’ fighter after he defeated Derek Brunson. Adesanya and other African fighters in the UFC, like Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou, did not seem to like it one bit. The South African’s comments were mainly directed at the fact that the aforementioned names were not African residents but he was.
However, the African fighters, particularly Adesanya, thought it was like a low blow and resentful. Furthermore, Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis were set to face off inside the octagon at UFC 293 following du Plessis’ victory over Robert Whittaker in a number one contender bout at UFC 290. Adesanya and du Plessis squared off in the octagon at UFC 291, where the then-champion, appearing intoxicated, hurled several offensive N-bombs at du Plessis.
However, du Plessis couldn’t bounce back fast since he was already in the octagon with a broken foot against Whittaker. Furthermore, Sean Strickland, who took the fight on short notice at the latest UFC event, pulled off another major upset by defeating Adesanya, leading Adesanya to take a break from the octagon.
Since the duo is not scheduled to fight at UFC 300, there is a chance that Adesanya will probably not get the next title shot against du Plessis. This is due to the fact that Dana White had already promised a title shot for Khamzat Chimaev after he defeated Kamaru Usman at UFC 294.
Who do you think will win a potential fight between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya? Leave your prediction below!
