Tag: daniel cormier

Daniel Cormier firmly believes that Dricus Du Plessis can do anything he sets his mind to, including capturing a second UFC title.

On Saturday, ‘Stillknocks’ will defend his middleweight strap for the first time since stealing a split decision against ex-titleholder Sean Strickland in January. Standing in Du Plessis’ way of a successful defense will be Israel Adesanya, who looks to make history by becoming the promotion’s first-ever three-time champ at 185.

The two will headline UFC 305, emanating from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Sharing his take on Du Plessis’ meteoric rise from prospect to world champion, Cormier believes the South African’s unique style has been largely responsible for his immense success and he expects that to continue in The Land Down Under.

“The problem with Dricus is that the things he does don’t look like everybody else’s,” Cormier told Submission Radio. “His feet may cross at an odd time, he may throw a punch from a weird angle, or he might do a takedown in a weird way, but it’s working. So you have to accept that just because it looks different, it’s not wrong—it’s his way, right? It’s his style, and he’s mastered it. He’s mastered it to the point that he’s the world champion. So I think that awkwardness will play to his benefit on Saturday night” (h/t MMA News).

Cormier confident Dricus du Plessis can capture double-gold with ‘the right matchup’

Having not yet defended the middleweight title, pundits were quick to caution Du Plessis’ desire to move up and try to claim a second crown. However, ‘DC’ is done doubting ‘DDP,’ suggesting that the man who made Izzy cry can do anything he wants inside the Octagon.

“I’m not doubting him no more. I’m just done doubting Dricus Du Plessis, man. I think he can do whatever he wants, you know? He’s shown time and time again that he can do anything, and Alex Pereira showed that it’s possible, right? Going from middleweight to light heavyweight and winning, and winning a lot. So yeah, I think he could, under the right circumstances. A lot of times it’s about matchups, right? The right person holding the belt is what makes you make that decision, and I think with the right matchup, Dricus can be a double champ.”

With Adesanya on Saturday and Sean Strickland already on deck, it’ll probably be a while before ‘Stillknocks’ is allowed to move up, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t already salivating over the idea of a champion vs. champion clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Alex Pereira.

Daniel Cormier loves the bad blood between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya

On Saturday night, the UFC returns to Perth, Australia with a loaded pay-per-view offering punctuated by a massive middleweight title clash. Du Plessis, the promotion’s reigning 185-pound king, will put his crown on the line for the first time against a man ready to claim it for a third time, Israel Adesanya.

It’s been more than a year since ‘DDP’ and Adesanya engaged in a racially charged face-off at UFC 290, but it’s clear that neither one’s disdain for the other has dwindled.

Discussing their upcoming title clash, Cormier suggested that ‘The Last Stylebender’ was smart to take the last year off after earning a reputation for being one of the most active champions in UFC history.

“I honestly don’t hate that he took some time off,” Cormier said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “They were riding this dude so hard. He was riding so hot, for so long.

“I remember right after he lost to Sean Strickland, I posted a picture of the amount of fights he had headlined. I thought to myself, this dude needs a break. It’s not bad that he took some time off. He was fighting a lot. Like, a lot. He was fighting a lot. I don’t know if anyone’s been as active” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Last summer, Adesanya and Du Plessis appeared to be on a collision course, but those plans were briefly derailed when Sean Strickland delivered a lights-out performance against the ‘Stylebender’ at UFC 293, taking the middleweight title with him back to Las Vegas.

In the aftermatch Adesanya opted to take some time off and reassess.

But when Du Plessis snatched the title away from Strickland just four months later, Adesanya knew it was time to start preparing for a comeback.

The heated rivalry between Du Plessis, who hails from South Africa, and Adesanya can be traced back to comments ‘Stillknocks’ made last year when he claimed that he would be the UFC’s first true African world champion. The comment rubbed Adesanya, who was born in Nigeria, the wrong way, leading to their heated exchange inside the Octagon last summer.

“Let's go nigga. What's up, bitch? Let's go, nigga.”

"I'm African, but I'm no brother of yours, son.”

The build-up to Israel Adesanya vs Dricus Du Plessis will be super dark.

It’ll be worse than Conor McGregor’s fried with Khabib, IMO.#UFC290

pic.twitter.com/UF6DWolTz4

— Chisanga Malata (@Chisanga_Malata) July 9, 2023

“He don’t want to lose to that dude,” Cormier said of Adesanya. “He don’t want to lose to Dricus. I love how intense it gets between these guys. I like bad blood fights. That’s my thing. I’m not going to lie to you, I love when it’s a bad blood fight, and this one has all the sh*t that I love. Those guys hate each other.”

Daniel Cormier says it’s up to Adesanya to prove he still has what it takes to compete

Though Adesanya is, in the eyes of many, the promotion’s greatest middleweight champion of all time, Du Plessis remains convinced that the former two-time titleholder’s best days are behind him.

Whether or not that’s true is entirely up to the 35-year-old ‘Stylebender’ as he looks to make history by becoming the first-ever three-time middleweight champion at UFC 305.

“I think Dricus is almost betting on him not being [the same guy he was before],” Cormier said. “He said it on Countdown. He said, ‘He’s a tremendous fighter but his light is dimming … his light is dimming if it isn’t completely out [already].’ F*cking Dricus du Plessis said that about Izzy.”

“It’s on Izzy to show that’s not the case. It’s [up to him to say], ‘I’m still here and I’m still the man.”