Tag: Israel Adesanya

Dricus du Plessis unsure of Israel Adesanya fight at UFC 300: ‘I’m not going to be fully recovered’

Dricus du Plessis rules out UFC 300 title fight with Israel Adesanya I'm not going to be recoveredDricus du Plessis claims that while competing at a monumental UFC 300 card in April – the newly-minted middleweight…

Dricus du Plessis rules out UFC 300 title fight with Israel Adesanya I'm not going to be recovered

Dricus du Plessis claims that while competing at a monumental UFC 300 card in April – the newly-minted middleweight kingpin has no interest in potentially landing a bout with Israel Adesanya as soon as the event, particularly if he’s going to be fighting potentially compromised.

du Plessis, the newly-crowned undisputed middleweight champion, headlined UFC 297 just last month in Canada, narrowly edging out then-champion, Sean Strickland in his first championship fight under the promotion’s banner, landing the undisputed title.

And immediately welcoming the option of a UFC 300 clash with arch-rival, Adesanya, South African favorite, du Plessis claimed he only issued a call out to the City Kickboxing, after receiving prior knowledge confirming the ex-champion’s ability to make the card.

Dricus du Plessis unsure of UFC 300 fight with Israel Adesanya

However, for himself, Pretoria native, du Plessis claimed that while a spot on the massive pay-per-view card in April would be huge for him, he won’t consider fighting at UFC 300 against Adesanya if he is not fully, one hundred percent recovered from his clash with Strickland.

“I think UFC 300 is obviously going to be a milestone event,” Dricus du Plessis told Jacaranda FM during a recent interview. “I think it’s going to be great. Every time you have the UFC 100, UFC 200, and now UFC 300 – all are massive events and the pay-per-views are insane, it’s a massive hype, and I would love to be part of that.”

“But, not if it’s going to mean that I’m not going to be fully recovered,” Dricus du Plessis continued. “Defending my title is much more important to me than being on this milestone event. The real milestone event will be UFC in Africa, and more importantly, South Africa. I can’t even explain to you how long I’ll be willing to wait to make that happen and defend my belt on home soil. That’s history. UFC 300 is just a number. It’s not as massive as UFC Africa.” 

Do you think Dricus du Plessis x Israel Adesanya headlines a UFC Africa card?

Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 main event fight return with 300-Themed poster: ‘The Gods must be crazy’

Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 return with 300-themed poster on social media God must be crazyFormer two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya appears to be gearing up for a return to the Octagon at…

Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 return with 300-themed poster on social media God must be crazy

Former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya appears to be gearing up for a return to the Octagon at UFC 300 in two months time – amid continues links to a championship charge against arch-rival, Dricus du Plessis atop the monumental card.

Adesanya, a former two-time undisputed middleweight titleholder, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 293 back in September in Australia, dropping his title in a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland.

And as for South African rival, du Plessis, the newly-crowned middleweight champion headlined UFC 297 back in January against the aforenoted, Strickland – landing the title in a close, split decision win over the outspoken American. 

Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 inclusion

Linked with a title fight defense against Adesanya at UFC 300 in April atop the massive flagship card, the latter appears to be gearing up for the potential headlining fight with the Pretoria native in April – sharing a 300-themed poster on his official Instagram Stories overnight. 

“The gods must be crazy,” Israel Adesanya captioned the post on his official social media overnight.

Revealing last month following his title victory how his notable call out of Adesanya was pre-planned, du Plessis’ manager is said to have received information ahead of UFC 297, pertaining to the fact Adesanya may be available in time to compete at UFC 300. 

Adesanya and du Plessis shared the Octagon for a tense, brash face-off back in July of last year at UFC 290 during International Fight Week, with a persistent injury ruling the newly-minted champion from a September title fight with the former kingpin. 

Furthermore, despite his recent run of two losses in his three most recent Octagon walks, City Kickboxing striker, Adesanya has opened and remains a notable betting favorite to beat du Plessis if they share the Octagon before the end of the year. 

Do you think Israel Adesanya headlines UFC 300 in April?

Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 main event fight return with 300-Themed poster: ‘The Gods must be crazy’

Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 return with 300-themed poster on social media God must be crazyFormer two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya appears to be gearing up for a return to the Octagon at…

Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 return with 300-themed poster on social media God must be crazy

Former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya appears to be gearing up for a return to the Octagon at UFC 300 in two months time – amid continues links to a championship charge against arch-rival, Dricus du Plessis atop the monumental card.

Adesanya, a former two-time undisputed middleweight titleholder, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 293 back in September in Australia, dropping his title in a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland.

And as for South African rival, du Plessis, the newly-crowned middleweight champion headlined UFC 297 back in January against the aforenoted, Strickland – landing the title in a close, split decision win over the outspoken American. 

Israel Adesanya hints at UFC 300 inclusion

Linked with a title fight defense against Adesanya at UFC 300 in April atop the massive flagship card, the latter appears to be gearing up for the potential headlining fight with the Pretoria native in April – sharing a 300-themed poster on his official Instagram Stories overnight. 

“The gods must be crazy,” Israel Adesanya captioned the post on his official social media overnight.

Revealing last month following his title victory how his notable call out of Adesanya was pre-planned, du Plessis’ manager is said to have received information ahead of UFC 297, pertaining to the fact Adesanya may be available in time to compete at UFC 300. 

Adesanya and du Plessis shared the Octagon for a tense, brash face-off back in July of last year at UFC 290 during International Fight Week, with a persistent injury ruling the newly-minted champion from a September title fight with the former kingpin. 

Furthermore, despite his recent run of two losses in his three most recent Octagon walks, City Kickboxing striker, Adesanya has opened and remains a notable betting favorite to beat du Plessis if they share the Octagon before the end of the year. 

Do you think Israel Adesanya headlines UFC 300 in April?

Israel Adesanya’s coach cautious of potential Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 300: ‘We have to prepare’

Israel Adesanya warned about Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 300 we have to prepareFormer two-weight middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya’s head coach, Eugene Bareman has revealed that he and the former titleholder have…

Israel Adesanya warned about Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 300 we have to prepare

Former two-weight middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya’s head coach, Eugene Bareman has revealed that he and the former titleholder have been open to the prospect that they eventually stand opposite Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 300 in April – claiming a bout against the Chechen is one they must “prepare” for. 

Adesanya, a former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 293 back in September, suffering a surprising championship loss to Sean Strickland in the pair’s title showcase.

However, the City Kickboxing staple has been tipped to compete for the title in his return to the Octagon since his loss, in the form of a grudge fight against newly-minted gold holder, Dricus du Plessis – as soon as UFC 300.

Israel Adesanya linked to Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 300

Reportedly available for the April showdown on the monumental card against the South African, Adesanya’s coach admitted the team must prepare for the possibility of a grudge bout against unbeaten contender, Chimaev – claiming Adesanya’s future is at the behest of the UFC solely.

“Obviously, Izzy (Israel Adesanya) – Dricus (du Plessis) is one of those fights, Israel is one of the their [the UFC’s] biggest stars, Dricus is a new up and comer so that certainly has some appeal ut whether it’s then or that opportunity is still there later, really that’s not in our court,” Bareman told Sky Sports New Zealand.

“What we know is we have to prepare for that potential fight, we have to prepare for a potential fight with (Sean) Strickland, we have to prepare for a potential fight with Khamzat (Chimaev) because those are the most obvious options on the table and the timing,” Bareman explained. “It’s not up to us.” (H/T MMA News)

Who’d win in a future fight at UFC 300: Israel Adesanya or Khamzat Chimaev?

Dricus Du Plessis’ manager was told by Team Adesanya that ‘Izzy would be ready’ for UFC 300

Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 300Despite fighting to a razor-thin and somewhat controversial split decision at UFC 297, Sean Strickland and new middleweight world…

Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 300

Despite fighting to a razor-thin and somewhat controversial split decision at UFC 297, Sean Strickland and new middleweight world champion Dricus Du Plessis will move on from one another.

UFC CEO Dana White appears to be cooking up something a little more exciting for Du Plessis’ first title defense despite the fact that even he admitted to scoring the highly-debated headliner in favor of Strickland. Though nothing is official, fight fans assume that the promotion will be targeting a clash between DDP and former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.

It certainly makes sense given their heated history, including a racially charged face-off in July following Du Plessis’ second-round knockout of Robert Whittaker. But whether or not it happens at the promotion’s next big landmark event, UFC 300, is up in the air as rumors continue to circulate about Adesany’s health.

DDP’s manager Daniel Rubenstein attempted to clear the air on what has been going on behind the scenes, revealing that ahead of Du Plessis’ win over Strickland in Toronto, he was informed that Adesanya would be ready to fight at UFC 300. That in turn prompted DPP to call out ‘The Last Stylebender’ in his post-fight interview.

“Preference wise, I think it’s Adesanya. I think there’s heat between the two of them, they’ve already done all the lead up to build the fight. I think [Adesanya] is who we’d all prefer as a team,” Rubenstein said on the Anik & Florian podcast. “Very honestly, he wasn’t gonna call out Izzy if Izzy wasn’t gonna be ready.

“I hit up Izzy’s manager like, ‘Hey is Izzy gonna be ready? We’re gonna call out Izzy if he’s gonna be ready. But if he’s not gonna be ready for [UFC 300] I don’t want Dricus barking up the wrong tree. We’ll call out Alex Pereira, he’s right there in the Octagon.’ They told me Izzy would be ready, so that was the callout he made” (h/t MMA Mania).

UFC 300 is still without a main event

The UFC 300 headliner is still a mystery with Dana White recently revealing that they are circling a few different options for the most anticipated main event announcement of the year.

10 fights in total have been announced for the milestone event on April 13, but only one title tilt (BMF excluded) has made its way onto the card. That would be a strawweight championship showdown between Chinese superstars Zhang Weili and Yan Xianan.

The full UFC 300 lineup thus far is as follows:

Official odds released for Dricus du Plessis – Israel Adesanya title battle amid links to fight after UFC 297

Israel Adesanya claims betl never mattered to him fight just for fun after UFC 293Off the back of his UFC 297 championship victory over the course of the weekend, Dricus du Plessis has…

Israel Adesanya claims betl never mattered to him fight just for fun after UFC 293

Off the back of his UFC 297 championship victory over the course of the weekend, Dricus du Plessis has officially opened as a betting underdog to beat former two-time divisional best, Israel Adesanya in an expected title fight between the two rivals next.

du Plessis, who headlined UFC 297 last weekend in Toronto, emerged with the undisputed middleweight title in tow, landing a close, contentious split decision win over defending champion, Sean Strickland over the course of five rounds in their Canada clash.

As for Adesanya, the City Kickboxing striker has been sidelined since he dropped the crown to the aforenoted common-foe, Strickland back in September at UFC 293, in one of the biggest title fight upsets in the history of the organization.

Israel Adesanya opens as close betting favorite

And despite his championship fight loss to Strickland – which came as a record-setting second in the space of a calendar years, opening odds have Israel Adesanya placed as a close -105 betting favorite to beat newly-crowned gold holder, Dricus du Plessis, with the Pretoria native a +115 betting underdog. 

Linked with a UFC 300 headliner in a quickfire April grudge title fight between the two, the ultimate VIP betting experiences online can help fans land the biggest payouts in a world of interesting outright bets and prop specifics – ahead of what promises to be the most high-profile pay-per-view event of the year for the Dana White-led promotion 

Issuing an immediate call out in the direction of Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya off the back of his title fight win over Strickland, du Plessis urged the former to get up off the couch amid his title fight loss late last year, in a bid to settle their long-standing rivalry. 

Sharing the Octagon back in July of last year following his stunning UFC 290 win over Robert Whittaker, Pretoria native, du Plessis was gearing up for a title clash with then-champion, Adesanya, however, a lingering injury suffered ahead of the bout forced him to miss a September turnaround. 

Already knocking back the advances from the likes of unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev in the wake of his championship win in ‘The Great White North’, du Plessis has been pursued already by former middleweight kingpin and current light heavyweight best, Alex Pereira.

And furthermore, former champion, Whittaker has staked his claim for another shot at South African favorite, du Plessis after their International Fight Week clash last summer, claiming his preparation for the officially-billed championship-eliminator was less than lax. 

Hinting at a potential return in a title battle against du Plessis, Israel Adesanya received flak across social media earlier this week, after posting footage of him reacting to the UFC 297 title fight – where he was left in hysterics after mocking Strickland’s championship loss in his first attempted title fight defense. 

Teasing a return on his official Instagram account, Israel Adesanya, who claimed he would be sidelined from full-time training until the end of February, appeared to let fans privy on an incoming return to camp for a competition comeback. 

Who wins in a future title affair: Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya?