According to his long-time City Kickboxing training partner, Dan Hooker, former two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has ballooned up…
According to his long-time City Kickboxing training partner, Dan Hooker, former two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has ballooned up to 230lbs ahead of his title fight at UFC 305 next month – and his putting some serious power behind his shots in sparring.
Last time out, the Nigerian-Kiwi headlined UFC 293 in September of last year, dropping a one-sided unanimous decision loss to the outspoken current number one contender, Sean Strickland, in a massive upset victory for the now-former champion.
“Israel (Adesanya) is – I can’t even bother sparring him at the moment,” Dan Hooker told Submission Radio. “Like the way he’s hitting me, I think he’s like 105 kilos (230lbs). “I’m just like, ‘F*cking just kick like, just kick me in the leg’. And I was like, ‘Ah get f*cked’. I was just like, nah. Yeah, like that. He’s had some time off, he was carrying some injuries. He spent a lot of time just packing on some size and like a lot of strength, bro.”
“And he’s just hitting like a truck, man” Hooker continued. “Yeah, I can’t even be bothered sparring him, like he’s hitting too hard. So, I can’t wait until he can get out there. So if you think you can just walk in his front door and raid his fridge, I think you’re in for a rude awakening.”
Who do you think wins at UFC 305 next month: Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya?
Dricus Du Plessis recently said that he sensed Israel Adesanya was ready to hang up his gloves after avenging his loss to Alex Pereira, feeling as though he had accomplished everything he set out to achieve in the sport. “Stillknocks” is set to defend his middleweight title for the first time against the former longtime […]
Dricus Du Plessis recently said that he sensed Israel Adesanya was ready to hang up his gloves after avenging his loss to Alex Pereira, feeling as though he had accomplished everything he set out to achieve in the sport.
“Stillknocks” is set to defend his middleweight title for the first time against the former longtime champion, Adesanya, in the main event of UFC 305. The eagerly awaited clash is scheduled for August 17 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
“The Last Stylebender” is set to make his return to the Octagon after an 11-month hiatus, the longest of his UFC career. Following his title loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last September, Adesanya took a self-imposed break to focus on his mental health.
The Nigerian-born Kiwi is currently enduring the toughest period of his career since his failed bid for the light heavyweight title against then-champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. Three fights later, Adesanya suffered his first middleweight loss, a fifth-round TKO at the hands of longtime rival Alex Pereira at UFC 281.
However, he made a triumphant comeback by reclaiming the middleweight title from “Poatan” in a rematch at UFC 287, and Du Plessis believes this victory marks the peak of Adesanya’s career.
In a recent interview with Hello Sport, the reigning UFC middleweight champion reflected on his faceoff with Adesanya at the UFC 305 on-sale press conference. The South African expressed respect for “The Last Stylebender’s” achievements but sensed that Adesanya is pushing himself too hard for the upcoming fight.
“When it comes to the title defenses, the winning streaks will never come because he doesn’t have the time, Du Plessis said. “I think his biggest achievement for him personally was beating Alex Pereira. He had this nemesis who had beaten him multiple times, and after that fight, he [Adesanya] was ready to call it quits.
“That’s what I saw in his eyes as well. [He was] trying to convince me but more so trying to convince himself that he still wants to do this and that he still has what it takes to be the best fighter in the world and as soon as you ask yourself that question – you’re in a dark place.”
Adesanya and Pereira’s rivalry stands as one of the most intense and storied in combat sports history, with “Poatan” seemingly having shattered his opponent both physically and mentally – only to suffer a brutal knockout in their latest scrap.
The Brazilian defeated Adesanya twice in kickboxing, and the two have each claimed a victory each in their UFC showdowns.
Dricus Du Plessis Says Being At Peace Heading Into UFC 305 ‘Dangerous’ For Israel Adesanya
Adesanya previously stated that the layoff allowed him to regroup and alleviate the pressure of constantly fighting and enduring the demands of fight camps.
“The time off is not necessarily the problem; it can be good, but it can be bad… When you get to the position where you are so comfortable, where he said he’s at peace, he’s happy with what he has, and it’s a dangerous place to be at because this sport is chaos and chaos is the exact opposite of peace.
“If you’re at peace and you’re getting in the Octagon with me, it’s going to be a problem because I bring chaos.”
Du Plessis and Adesanya have a tumultuous history, with their fates intertwined long before their dramatic altercation at UFC 290 last July. Their rivalry dates back to when “The Last Stylebender” reigned as middleweight champion, and Du Plessis called him out, vowing to become a true African champion and bring the belt back to the continent.
Israel Adesanya is returning to the Octagon to face Dricus Du Plessis for the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 305 in Perth. Last September, he lost the title to Sean Strickland in a huge upset and awaits to finally settle his rivalry with “Stillknocks.” On his rather quick path to becoming the kingpin, Du Plessis […]
Israel Adesanya is returning to the Octagon to face Dricus Du Plessis for the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 305 in Perth. Last September, he lost the title to Sean Strickland in a huge upset and awaits to finally settle his rivalry with “Stillknocks.”
On his rather quick path to becoming the kingpin, Du Plessis defeated the likes of Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, and Darren Till. With his unusual grappling style and striking, which were initially doubted heavily by many MMA enthusiasts, he’s become a hard nut to crack in the middleweight division.
Here’s how Adesanya, one of the most celebrated strikers ever, plans to counter Du Plessis’ unique style at UFC 305…
Israel Adesanya Aims To Stick To His Classic Style To Beat Dricus Du Plessis At UFC 305
Adesanya recently appeared in an interview uploaded on The Sias du Plessis Show YouTube channel. The former two-time UFC middleweight champion seemed unbothered by his next opponent’s unpredictable style and physicality.
“The Last Stylebender” remembered his KO win over Alex Pereira, who appeared to hold a size advantage over all middleweights in the UFC. Accordingly, Du Plessis’ size and unorthodox style on fight night won’t compel Adesanya to change his strategy.
“I fought the largest middleweight, Alex Pereira, and I knocked him out,” Adesanya said. “How am I gonna deal with Dricus’ uniqueness? It’s just be unique myself. Be unique to who I am. Never again will I ever stray away from my style or my flow just because I wanna do something different or pander or anything like that.”
Adesanya also revealed that he plans to fight like his usual self at UFC 305. Fans can expect him to maintain distance and attempt to piece up Du Plessis from the outside with clean strikes if this is true.
“I’m always gonna stick to my style and stick to what I do best, which is beating people up in fantastic fashion. And, yeah, I’ve done that my whole career, and I wanna get back to that,” Adesanya added. “I’m not really worried about the outcome. It’s more about the journey.”
The Nigerian-New Zealander repeatedly mentioned that he wants to enjoy the process rather than worry about the outcome of his fight with Du Plessis.
Will this mindset, accompanied by his classic striking style, be enough to reclaim gold at UFC 305? Only time will tell.
Looking to rebound to the winning circle at UFC 305 next month in a title clash with arch-rival, Dricus…
Looking to rebound to the winning circle at UFC 305 next month in a title clash with arch-rival, Dricus du Plessis in Perth, former two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has vowed to lay waste to each and every one of his opponents in “fantastic fashion” before it’s all said and done.
Adesanya, a former two-time undisputed middlweight champion, is set to headline next month’s pay-per-view return ‘Dowunder’ – attempting to return to Australia in winning form this time around.
Sidelined since September of last year, City Kickboxing star, Adesanya most recently dropped his middleweight crown for the second time in the space of a calendar year, in the form of a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland.
Israel Adesanya vows to beat fighters in “fantastic fashion”
“I fought the largest middleweight, Alex Pereira, and i knocked him out,” Israel Adesanya said on the Sias du Plessis Show. “How am I gonna deal with Dricus’ uniqueness? It’s just be unique myself. Be unique to who I am.”
“Never again will I ever stray away from my style or my flow just because I wanna do something different or pander or anything like that,” Israel Adesanya explained. “I’m always gonna stick to my style and stick to what I do best, which is beating people up in fantastic fashion. And, yeah, I’ve done that my whole career, and I wanna get back to that. I’m not really worried about the outcome. It’s more about the journey.”
Who wins next month at UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya?
Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is intrigued by the possibility of Ji?í Procházka joining the division he formerly competed in. Procházka is currently just over a week on from his latest outing at the UFC 303 pay-per-view, which saw his second failed bid to achieve two-time champion status on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage […]
Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is intrigued by the possibility of Ji?í Procházka joining the division he formerly competed in.
Procházka is currently just over a week on from his latest outing at the UFC 303 pay-per-view, which saw his second failed bid to achieve two-time champion status on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage play out.
Having had his light heavyweight reign brought to an end by a severe shoulder injury in late 2022, “BJP” returned in competition for the then-vacant belt at UFC 295 last November. On that night, Alex Pereira exited the cage with the gold in his possession, completing two-division glory in the process.
With both subsequently recording wins at UFC 300 this past April, they ran it back on short notice after the June 29 numbered event was left in desperate need of a headline savior.
The Czech star answered the call and looked to right the wrongs from his first showdown with “Poatan.” But unfortunately for the former champ, he was soundly beaten second time around.
That idea appears to be one that gets a former title challenger in both divisions off his seat…
Sonnen ‘Loves’ The Idea Of Middleweight Procházka
During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen reacted to talk of Procházka possibly testing the middleweight waters down the line, a move that the former champ himself has previously insisted would be doable.
While he suggested a divisional switch is not a necessity for “BJP” despite his two defeats to the current light heavyweight kingpin, “The Bad Guy” did point out a number of mouthwatering matchups that could await the Czech star down at 185 pounds.
“Ji?í Procházka’s coach suggests the former champion should move down to middleweight. … Well, I don’t want to take on that coach or his opinion because he is damn good and he created a world champion there,” Sonnen said. “I believe what he is offering, in front of everything else, is that it is not time for Ji?í to retire. I agree with that, fully.
“I don’t believe there is a meaningful difference if you become a world champion in a different division. … Ji?í at 185, that is completely fascinating to me. I love that idea,” Sonnen continued. “I really don’t want to see Ji?í vs. Alex Pereira (again). I didn’t really want to see Ji?í vs. Alex Pereira last weekend. That’s just not the one that I was itching for. But I tell you what, Ji?í Procházka vs. Du Plessis? You have my attention. Ji?í Procházka vs. Sean Strickland, vs. Izzy Adesanya, wow, vs. Robert Whittaker, woah, things just got really interesting. Ji?í Procházka vs. Khamzat Chimaev! Ji?í at 185, I love this concept, but I’m not bothered by the concept of Ji?í staying at 205.”
It remains to be seen what Procházka’s plans are for the future and whether he shares his coach’s view on a middleweight move next.
But regardless, the always entertaining “BJP” is already back to his unique and unorthodox training regime back in Czechia.
Dricus Du Plessis recently looked back on the fight that saw him crowned as the UFC middleweight champion earlier this year. Du Plessis is currently gearing up for his first defense of the 185-pound title, which goes down (under) in Perth, Australia, as the UFC 305 pay-per-view main event next month. The South African will […]
Dricus Du Plessis recently looked back on the fight that saw him crowned as the UFC middleweight champion earlier this year.
Du Plessis is currently gearing up for his first defense of the 185-pound title, which goes down (under) in Perth, Australia, as the UFC 305 pay-per-view main event next month.
The South African will finally square off with Israel Adesanya close to a year on from their originally planned showdown. After upsetting Robert Whittaker, Du Plessis was expected to challenge “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 293 in Sydney last September.
But their rivalry — a sensitive and historical one born out of Du Plessis’ controversial comments regarding the UFC’s African champs — was put on the back burner after an injury to “Stillknocks.”
In his place, Sean Strickland made the long-haul flight to Australia and capitalized in emphatic fashion, outpointing Adesanya dominantly.
While that served as another delay in Adesanya vs. Du Plessis coming to fruition, the latter brought the matchup back to the surface when he rendered Strickland’s reign a short one at UFC 297 in Toronto this past January.
Du Plessis Describes Fighting ‘Very Tricky’ Strickland
During a recent appearance on the All Talk podcast, Du Plessis reflected on his experience fighting the unique style of Strickland in Canada six months ago.
After noting his former opponent’s shock win over Adesanya, the reigning champ outlined the difficulty that comes with fighting “Tarzan’s” unorthodox approach.
More than handling that, however, Du Plessis said his real agitation came when Strickland failed to deliver on his promise of a ‘fight-to-the-death’ war — a criticism that has since reared its head again after Strickland’s victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302.
“(Strickland’s) a very tricky guy. He’s hard to hit, he has a sneaky jab — not a lot of power, but he hits the target and is really, really hard to catch,” Du Plessis said. “Let me say it this way, it was frustrating (to fight him) because he said, ‘Till death,’ and he just walked backwards the whole time. So that was a little frustrating.
“But I mean, he did catch me with that jab for the first two rounds the whole time,” Du Plessis continued. “To be honest, I felt the jabs and I just thought, ‘I’ll just go through them.’ All of a sudden, I just couldn’t see out of my eye anymore. I realized, ‘I have to start blocking these.’”
Having successfully gotten past Strickland’s style in narrow fashion, Du Plessis is next tasked with replicating his ex-rival’s feat from 2023.
Looking to rebound to the winning circle at UFC 305 next month in a title clash with arch-rival, Dricus…
