Dricus Du Plessis Puts the Final Nail on Real African Clash With Israel Adesanya, Shuts Down Ex-Champ Ahead of Sean Strickland Fight at UFC 297

Dricus du Plessis finally got his wish to fight for the title after bulldozing through his opponents in the UFC. He will be facing the ever-vocal Sean Strickland this weekend at UFC 297 for the middleweight strap. Meanwhile, the South African fighter recently sat down for an interview with Jon Anik, where he talked about fighting Israel Adesanya in the future. Apparently, du Plessis isn’t interested in the former champion.

The ‘real African’ beef between Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis was one of the biggest highlights of 2023. That set up a title fight between the two middleweights perfectly. But in the wake of ‘Izzy’s loss to Sean Strickland, du Plessis seems to want nothing to do with the Kiwi fighter. Let’s find out his thoughts on the matter.

Dricus du Plessis dismisses Israel Adesanya

Fighting Israel Adesanya sometime in the future has been a question that people frequently ask Dricus du Plessis. However, ‘Stillknocks’ isn’t interested in fitting a particular opponent. Since joining the UFC, du Plessis has had only one objective – to fight for the world title. He told Jon Anik, “I am not fixated on fighting anybody. I am fixated on fighting for that title.”

Furthermore, Dricus du Plessis believes that fighting Israel Adesanya is not worth it anymore. Because Sean Strickland pulled off an upset win against ”The Last Stylebender’ at UFC 293 to become the champion, fighting Adesanya serves no purpose to the South African star. “As soon as Strickland won that belt, Israel Adesanya became completely irrelevant to me,” du Plessis added. He even mentioned how he would feel if he never crossed paths with ‘Izzy’ in the UFC in the future. Let us take a look at that front.

‘Stillnocks’ has no problems if he doesn’t get to fight ‘Izzy’ in the future

For many fighters, going up against the legend of the sport is something that they desire to create their own legacies. But that is not the route that Dricus du Plessis wants to take. He has his own plans and if he doesn’t get to fight Israel Adesanya to cement his legacy as one of the great middleweights of all time, that will not be a problem for him. Du Plessis further stated, “According to me right now, I never have to fight him [Adesanya]. That’s fine. I don’t care.”

Meanwhile, the South African fighter has tasted gold in other promotions and believes that becoming the world champion is the only thing that matters. As such, he is looking forward to fulfilling his goal of becoming a champion. “I care about becoming world champion and realizing my destiny,” Dricus du Plessis added.

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While Israel Adesanya has not been in the title picture since losing the championship at UFC 293, there is a chance that he might come back to fight for the title again. He has already etched his name in the history books as one of the greatest middleweights ever, so there is no reason why we can’t consider Dana White pitting him against Sean Strickland or Dricus du Plessis after UFC 297. We will have to wait and see how things develop in the weeks and months to come.

Read More: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 300? Will African Star Settle the Rivalry With Ex-MW Champion After UFC 297?