Sidelining Sean Strickland’s Claims, Dana White’s Rationale Behind Rebooking Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira Explained by UFC Hall-of-Famer

The middleweight division is currently on a roll, with every fighter waiting for a title shot with current champion Dricus Du Plessis ready to defend his title. However, he is yet to receive his next opponent in the division. One of the leading contenders to get a title shot next is the former champion, Sean Strickland.

Since ‘Tarzan’ previously held the belt, should he get the opportunity first? Israel Adesanya also got his rematch after losing his belt to Alex Pereria. However, former UFC legend Michael Bisping feels ‘Tarzan’ may not get the same privilege. Let us find out what the 45-year-old had to say.

Michael Bisping feels Israel Adesanya might just get a nod ahead of Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya is one of the biggest stars in the middleweight division and is waiting to make a comeback. ‘The Last Stylebender’ had previously fought at UFC 293 when he lost the title to Sean Strickland. Since then, the middleweight title has exchanged hands after Du Plessis won it against Strickland at UFC 297. ‘Tarzan’, since his loss is desperately waiting for a title shot, but Bisping feels a bit different about it. The 45-year-old recently took to his YouTube channel to share his reasoning behind it.

He also pointed out why Adesanya was given his rematch against Alex Pereira. The former champion said, “Well sadly, for Sean, the reason that happened is that is what tends to happen. If you look at the history books anytime, you have a dominant champion that goes out there and defends the belt a number of times right? Number one, they become a big star. They become a big attraction, a massive pay-per-view draw. And there’s a lot of people invested in their journey. And if they get beaten often, it’s seen as an upset. It’s seen as some shocking event. So they run it back. Okay, got to remember.”

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Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya have had a bit of history between them. The pair were supposed to face each other in the past, but it never happened after Du Plessis suffered an injury. While there is no announcement for the next fight, Adesanya revealed he might have faced ‘Stillknocks’ at UFC 300.

Israel Adesanya reveals why he did not feature at UFC 300

UFC 300 is just around the corner and the fans are excited about the historic event. The card is loaded with breathtaking fights with Alex Pereira taking on Jamahal Hill in the main event. However, many believed the main event would feature Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis. With the fights already announced it now seems that the fans have to wait a bit longer to witness the battle.  ‘The Last Stylebender’ recently revealed that it was the champion who did not want to fight him. 

He said, “They were some things that were meant to happen. They summoned me, I’m sure this is out there now … but they summoned me for 300 and I was like ‘yep, let’s roll.’ But their side didn’t want it. They didn’t want it. They just fought Strickland so maybe he had a little bit of niggly injuries and stuff but we’ve all got niggles and what not.” Dricus Du Plessis is all set to defend his title this year and it will be interesting to see whom he faces. Who do you think ‘Stillknocks’ will face in his career next? Let us know in the comments below.

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