Dricus Du Plessis Waiting for Israel Adesanya

With a full camp, Dricus du Plessis will be a threat to dethrone Israel Adesanya

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Dricus du Plessis on Israel Adesanya’s attempt to intimidate him: “He didn’t bother me”

Dricus du Plessis will not be competing at UFC 293 this Saturday.

Despite winning a middleweight title eliminator this past July, it is Sean Strickland challenging reigning champ Israel Adesanya.

Du Plessis is only two months removed from defeating Robert Whittaker. With a full camp, he will be a threat to dethrone Adesanya. The bout against Whittaker illustrated that; not only was it his eighth straight victory, but also his most impressive to date.

Contents

1. Israel Adesanya seeking back-to-back finishes

Whittaker (24-7) had long been considered the second-best in the division for the past half-decade. He won 12 of his first 14 fights as a middleweight, with the only losses suffered against Adesanya. But that changed dramatically in July, when Du Plessis dominated nearly seven minutes of action before finishing Whittaker.

“I usually fight switch-stance, but my coach felt fighting southpaw was the way to go,” said Du Plessis (20-2). “I was a bit skeptical, but I trusted my coach and it worked amazingly.”

The switch to southpaw allowed Du Plessis to move around Whittaker’s lead leg, adding a whole new degree of difficulty for him.

“If Rob gets his forward pressure going, you’re in trouble,” said Du Plessis. “That’s why I made sure to keep constant pressure on him, and that’s what got him in the end.”

Prior to that bout, the majority of Du Plessis’ greatest success took place outside of the UFC. But fairly quietly, the 29-year-old from South Africa has now collected six wins in a row in the Octagon.

With a combination of size, speed, and strength, Du Plessis is a legitimate puzzle yet to be solved in the UFC–which is further highlighted by his victory against Whittaker.

“I was a massive underdog going into that fight, so the win was a statement,” said Du Plessis. “You’d never seen Whittaker get gassed until he fought me. I’d been getting a lot of backlash on my cardio, but that’s out the window now.

“Whittaker rightfully deserved to be the favorite, but making people eat their words, it was a sweet victory. Nothing about my success is luck. I deserve to be here and I’m a force to be reckoned with.”

Du Plessis will soon be a household name. There are few bigger stars in the sport than Adesanya, and permitting he retains the title this weekend at UFC 293 against Sean Strickland, his next opponent should be Du Plessis.

Following the victory against Whittaker, a tense moment occurred when Adesanya stepped into the cage.

✊🏿
If you ain’t my brother, you ain’t African!!
I will show you where you’re from, NIGGA‼️ pic.twitter.com/iYGoBGIcB8

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) July 9, 2023

The moment with Adesanya prevented Du Plessis from savoring the victory against Whittaker, which disappointed him.

“I thought it was disrespectful to Whittaker, who is great,” said Du Plessis. “He deserves that respect. Fighting him was one of the biggest honors of my life. We needed to celebrate that victory to honor both of us as mixed martial artists.”

As for whether Adesanya intimidated him, Du Plessis said that was never a factor.

“He didn’t bother me,” said Du Plessis. “If that’s the example he wants to set, then so be it. That’s going to be the fight of my life. I’m really looking forward to it.”

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Israel Adesanya seeking back-to-back finishes

Israel Adesanya defends the middleweight title this Saturday at UFC 293 against Sean Strickland.

Despite Strickland (27-5) winning eight of his last ten fights in the UFC, he enters this title bout as a considerable underdog. Is there anyone out there who genuinely believes he is a better mixed martial artist than Adesanya? That is not to imply that Strickland cannot win, only that he has an uphill battle in front of him.

For Adesanya (24-2), this could be a trap. He is coming off the win of a lifetime against Alex Pereira, a glorious knockout of a man who had defeated him twice in kickboxing and once in the Octagon. The enormity of this fight with Strickland simply cannot compare to what was at stake when battling Pereira. Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that Strickland–who likes to move forward–will be able to combat Adesanya’s lateral speed.

Surprisingly, the last time Adesanya got a finish in two straight fights was 2018. That was the finale of a stretch of twelve straight finishes, a remarkably dominant run.

Since then, Adesanya has largely emerged victorious through decision. He is incredibly smart, and knows exactly how to avoid damage while winning scorecards.

It would be a shock if Strickland finds a way to win this Saturday.