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UFC 297: Dricus Du Plessis Hurls Zinger At Israel Adesanya: "He Lost His Shine"

Dricus Du Plessis is already eyeing his next victim after winning the UFC middleweight title.

Zain Bando

UFC 297: Dricus Du Plessis Hurls Zinger At Israel Adesanya: "He Lost His Shine"
UFC 297: Dricus Du Plessis Hurls Zinger At Israel Adesanya: "He Lost His Shine" /

After winning the UFC middleweight title in the UFC 297 headline attraction against Sean Strickland Saturday in Canada, Dricus Du Plessis kept his challengers short and sweet.

Du Plessis was forced out of a potentially highly-anticipated middleweight title fight last September between him and former champion Israel Adesanya due to injury and was replaced by Sean Strickland.

The potential fight was built as who "the real African champion" could be, but it never materialized. Then the middleweight carousel continued as Strickland became the new middleweight champion with an upset of Adesanya before subsequently fighting Du Plessis just four months later.

UFC 297 Post-Fight Presser: Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis (VIDEO)

Du Plessis called his shot after earning a split decision against Strickland Saturday night.

"I'm really enjoying this," Du Plessis said when asked how winning the championship felt. "I would love...there's another guy who tried to take my shine. He lost his shine. Now I have your shine. Didn't get into the cage tonight, but Israel Adesanya, get your ass back to the UFC so we could settle the score."

Adesanya hinted at a five-year hiatus after relinquishing the belt to Strickland and had his response to Du Plessis' performance on "X" immediately following the fight.

"This arc in my story was written long ago," Adesanya wrote. "Our paths are destined to cross again. Stay tuned for the next episode, thanks for watching. We Write History"

At press time, UFC 300 is without a main event, and it is unclear whether the promotion intends to make Du Plessis vs. Adesanya next, but only time will tell.

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Zain Bando
ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99

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