Dricus Du Plessis wants next title shot, rips Israel Adesanya
12/09/2023 02:49
Dricus Du Plessis turned down a title shot with then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya due to the turnaround being too tight, so the UFC went with Sean Strickland instead.
And Strickland capitalized on that opportunity by walking the champion down for five rounds and winning a unanimous decision victory to become the new champion.
Now Du Plessis has his sights set on Strickland and the UFC title.
"Myself and [Strickland] had the biggest upsets of 2023 and I am undoubtedly the No. 1 contender, so let's settle this like men whenever, wherever," Du Plessis wrote on Instagram. "After that, I'll give [Adesanya] his well-deserved hiding on my home soil South Africa."
Du Plessis is the most likely next fight for Strickland, outside of a rematch with Adesanya which no one but Adesanya and UFC president Dana White want.
If it should come to be that Du Plessis and Adesanya fight, he has a word of warning for him.
"[I] don't want to beat the amateur that fought on Saturday night," Du Plessis wrote. "I want to beat the best [Adesanya] so take some time and get your s*** together," he wrote.
Alex Pereira is against Israel Adesanya getting immediate rematch with Sean Strickland
If anyone knows what it's like to beat Adesanya it's former middleweight champion Alex Pereira, he's done it three times before. But when Adesanya was granted an immediate rematch against Pereira, he finally lost.
Perhaps that has something to do with Pereira rooting against an immediate rematch for Strickland.
"Personally, I don't agree," Pereira said on his YouTube channel. "When it was me, I agreed because I was losing the fight and managed to knock him out in the final round, so it was a totally different situation. That's why he deserved it. But now, Sean exceeded all expectations. Many people who didn't believe now believe. And hey, if you don't believe, that's on you. But I think he needs to keep going, bring in other athletes to challenge him."
Pereira's opinion is a popular one amongst the fans, media and fellow fighters.
"Adesanya needs to take a break because he's a guy – man, let's not discredit him just because he lost. He's a guy that I think fought four matches in a year. I think he needs to rest a bit his body, his mind to come back refreshed, ready for another fight and then come after that belt again and try something against Sean Strickland. But with the style Sean showed, I think it's tough for Adesanya to get that belt back."
