Tag: dricus du plessis

Dricus Du Plessis Backs Israel Adesanya’s Firm Take On His Legacy Amid UFC Losing Skid

UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis recently assessed former rival Israel Adesanya’s legacy following a third straight defeat inside the Octagon. After consecutive losses to Sean Strickland and Du Plessis in title fights, Adesanya returned to non-championship, non-pay-per-view competition this past weekend in Saudi Arabia. He was unable to rediscover winning form, instead falling via […]

UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis recently assessed former rival Israel Adesanya’s legacy following a third straight defeat inside the Octagon.

After consecutive losses to Sean Strickland and Du Plessis in title fights, Adesanya returned to non-championship, non-pay-per-view competition this past weekend in Saudi Arabia.

He was unable to rediscover winning form, instead falling via knockout to the surging Nassourdine Imavov seconds into the sophomore round in Riyadh.

During fight week for the Feb. 1 event, “The Last Stylebender” insisted he has zero worry about his current losing skid affecting his standing as one of the all-time greats, claiming that even 10 defeats in a row would not affect his legacy.

With that sentiment, Adesanya evidently has the support of a former opponent.

“For Izzy, I don’t think there’s another title run,” Du Plessis said during UFC 312 media day on Wednesday. “With all due respect. I think his legacy is cemented and will always be there, and whatever he feels like doing, he can do. I put him in the same category as Anderson Silva at this stage of, lose as many fights as you want. You’ll always have your legacy.

“Anderson Silva, after his reign ended, I don’t care how many times he lost. He was still my GOAT. He was still the greatest middleweight of all time,” Du Plessis continued. “And I feel like Izzy is in that area, where whatever you decided to do – take super fights here or there if you want to, if you still have the passion for it.”

Du Plessis submitted Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth last August. He’s back Down Under this week to defend the middleweight belt again, this time against the man he snatched the belt from 13 months ago, Sean Strickland.

The Nigerian-New Zealander, meanwhile, is planning on taking some time away from the cage to rest and recuperate, before assessing his next step on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.

Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: “Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest”

Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: "Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest"Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal…

Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: "Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest"

Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal means having to go through the current light heavyweight king, Alex Pereira.

But first, ‘Stillknocks’ has some work to do this Saturday in Sydney.

Emanating from the Qudos Bank Arena in Australia, Du Plessis is scheduled to put his 185-pound crown on the line in a highly anticipated rematch with ex-champion Sean Strickland at UFC 312.

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It will be Du Plessis’ second defense of the middleweight title, the first coming in August when he submitted Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of their UFC 305 headliner.

Du Plessis knows there’s still work to be done at 185

Speaking with McKenzie Pavacich of ESPN MMA, ‘DDP’ made it clear that his goal is to eventually move up and claim the light heavyweight title, but he knows that there is still a lot of work to be done at 185 before he can go asking for a shot at champ-champ status.

“I’m still quite a bit away from actually dominating the division and being in a place where there is no competition left,” Du Plessis said. “I also want to go up and get another belt and, ultimately, be seen as the greatest fighter to ever walk this earth. That is my ultimate goal, and that is what keeps me going.”

If Du Plessis comes out on top in The Land Down Under, he’ll move his record to 9-0 under the UFC banner while simultaneously going two-up on Strickland inside the Octagon.

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Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: “Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest”

Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: "Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest"Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal…

Dricus Du Plessis Wants to Take the Title Off Alex Pereira: "Ultimately Be Seen as the Greatest"

Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal means having to go through the current light heavyweight king, Alex Pereira.

But first, ‘Stillknocks’ has some work to do this Saturday in Sydney.

Emanating from the Qudos Bank Arena in Australia, Du Plessis is scheduled to put his 185-pound crown on the line in a highly anticipated rematch with ex-champion Sean Strickland at UFC 312.

468756476 1143276593829132 642327331946996902 n 1 819x1024 1

It will be Du Plessis’ second defense of the middleweight title, the first coming in August when he submitted Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of their UFC 305 headliner.

Du Plessis knows there’s still work to be done at 185

Speaking with McKenzie Pavacich of ESPN MMA, ‘DDP’ made it clear that his goal is to eventually move up and claim the light heavyweight title, but he knows that there is still a lot of work to be done at 185 before he can go asking for a shot at champ-champ status.

“I’m still quite a bit away from actually dominating the division and being in a place where there is no competition left,” Du Plessis said. “I also want to go up and get another belt and, ultimately, be seen as the greatest fighter to ever walk this earth. That is my ultimate goal, and that is what keeps me going.”

If Du Plessis comes out on top in The Land Down Under, he’ll move his record to 9-0 under the UFC banner while simultaneously going two-up on Strickland inside the Octagon.

dricus du plessis south africa 873483538

Dricus Du Plessis Says Everyone is a Little Jealous of Conor McGregor: “Man’s Sitting on His Yacht!”

Dricus Du Plessis Says Everyone is a Little Jealous of Conor McGregor: "Man’s Sitting on His Yacht!"Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous. Even though he hasn’t competed inside the…

Dricus Du Plessis Says Everyone is a Little Jealous of Conor McGregor: "Man’s Sitting on His Yacht!"

Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous.

Even though he hasn’t competed inside the Octagon in more than three years, McGregor is still arguably the biggest name in all of combat sports. He’s also one of the richest with a net worth reportedly tipping the scales at $180 million.

mcgregor money

Unfortunately, the once beloved Irish megastar has seen a lot of fight fans turn their back on him for one reason or another, whether it be his non-stop trash-talking of fighters who actually compete or a plethora of legal issues like the one that found him liable for sexual assault.

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But according to reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, much of the vitriol being aimed at the former two-division titleholder these days is nothing more than pure envy.

“Division champion and in an absolute clinical display against Eddie Alvarez,” Du Plessis said during an appearance on Straight Talk with Mark Bouris. “People forget about that immediately now because it’s been a while. The man’s sitting on his yacht, jeez. You know, it’s kind of easy to sit here and judge, but I think everybody’s kind of jealous of that. And yeah, I mean, the man’s done some wild stuff, but that’s a completely different story.

“As for Conor McGregor the athlete, you have to give that man all the respect and thank our fathers for what happened to this sport because of him. I mean, Conor McGregor, there’s a lot of controversy around the man, 100%. But I did an interview a couple of months ago where I said, whether you hate him or love him, you’ve got to respect what the man has done and achieved in this sport.

“People look at Conor McGregor now and say, ‘Oh, he’s done.’ Well, if he is done, good on him. You know, good on him. Because I’ve been a fan of his for a very long time.”

Dricus Du Plessis headlines UFC’s return to Australia

Dricus Du Plessis returns to the Octagon on Saturday, February 8 for his second middleweight title defense at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia. After securing a big win over Israel Adesanya in August, ‘DDP’ will look to once again fend off the man he took the title from, Sean Strickland.

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Stillknocks’ will also put his ‘O’ on the line as he rides into The Land Down Under with a perfect 8-0 record under the UFC banner, including wins over Robert Whittaker, Adesanya, and Strickland in his last three outings.

Dricus Du Plessis Says Everyone is a Little Jealous of Conor McGregor: “Man’s Sitting on His Yacht!”

Dricus Du Plessis Says Everyone is a Little Jealous of Conor McGregor: "Man’s Sitting on His Yacht!"Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous. Even though he hasn’t competed inside the…

Dricus Du Plessis Says Everyone is a Little Jealous of Conor McGregor: "Man’s Sitting on His Yacht!"

Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous.

Even though he hasn’t competed inside the Octagon in more than three years, McGregor is still arguably the biggest name in all of combat sports. He’s also one of the richest with a net worth reportedly tipping the scales at $180 million.

mcgregor money

Unfortunately, the once beloved Irish megastar has seen a lot of fight fans turn their back on him for one reason or another, whether it be his non-stop trash-talking of fighters who actually compete or a plethora of legal issues like the one that found him liable for sexual assault.

9a19cc40 a904 11ef abd4 f5b873cc0ef6

But according to reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, much of the vitriol being aimed at the former two-division titleholder these days is nothing more than pure envy.

“Division champion and in an absolute clinical display against Eddie Alvarez,” Du Plessis said during an appearance on Straight Talk with Mark Bouris. “People forget about that immediately now because it’s been a while. The man’s sitting on his yacht, jeez. You know, it’s kind of easy to sit here and judge, but I think everybody’s kind of jealous of that. And yeah, I mean, the man’s done some wild stuff, but that’s a completely different story.

“As for Conor McGregor the athlete, you have to give that man all the respect and thank our fathers for what happened to this sport because of him. I mean, Conor McGregor, there’s a lot of controversy around the man, 100%. But I did an interview a couple of months ago where I said, whether you hate him or love him, you’ve got to respect what the man has done and achieved in this sport.

“People look at Conor McGregor now and say, ‘Oh, he’s done.’ Well, if he is done, good on him. You know, good on him. Because I’ve been a fan of his for a very long time.”

Dricus Du Plessis headlines UFC’s return to Australia

Dricus Du Plessis returns to the Octagon on Saturday, February 8 for his second middleweight title defense at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia. After securing a big win over Israel Adesanya in August, ‘DDP’ will look to once again fend off the man he took the title from, Sean Strickland.

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Stillknocks’ will also put his ‘O’ on the line as he rides into The Land Down Under with a perfect 8-0 record under the UFC banner, including wins over Robert Whittaker, Adesanya, and Strickland in his last three outings.

Sean Strickland: Dricus Du Plessis ‘Took The Coward’s Way Out’ By Submitting Israel Adesanya

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland evidently wasn’t too impressed by how rival Dricus Du Plessis had his hand raised at the expense of Israel Adesanya last year. Strickland and Du Plessis are renewing hostilities this week in Sydney, Australia, where they’ll run it back 13 months on from the South African’s title-winning victory over […]

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland evidently wasn’t too impressed by how rival Dricus Du Plessis had his hand raised at the expense of Israel Adesanya last year.

Strickland and Du Plessis are renewing hostilities this week in Sydney, Australia, where they’ll run it back 13 months on from the South African’s title-winning victory over “Tarzan” in Canada.

Since then, Du Plessis has successfully defended the gold on one occasion, submitting Adesanya with a face crank in round four of the UFC 305 main event in Perth last August. Strickland, meanwhile, earned his shot at redemption with a five-round performance against Paulo Costa that was widely branded lackluster.

With that in mind, “Stillknocks” has been touting his evolution as a fighter across the past 12 months, claiming to have grown more as an athlete than Strickland since they last collided.

During a recent interview with Fox Sports Australia, the polaziring American responded to those remarks. Suffice to say, he does not agree…

“I don’t know about that,” Strickland said. “Dude, you fought Izzy, and Izzy was beating you in striking. I dog walked Izzy. Don’t get too excited, Izzy. I mean that in a striking sense. Maybe you (Du Plessis) might wrestle a little bit more.

“It was good dude…he took the guy down again. He took the coward’s way out, real bad,” Strickland continued. “He’s supposed to be a strong South African, but wants to wrestle him. Real bad, dude. At the end of the day, he fought well, but you’re gonna let the Chinaman beat you in striking, which we all remember. … I don’t like to wrestle. I’m a grown ass man. I do the right things. I stand and strike.”

Those comments are not surprising given the lead-up to Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view, which has seen the challenger lay down a striking-only challenge to Du Plessis.

Given how quick the South African was to shut that down, Strickland’s takedown defense could be tested come fight night at Qudos Bank Arena.