Snubbing Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya Calls His Probable Fight Against Dricus Du Plessis “One of the Most Important Fights in Sporting History”

Israel Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC), the reigning UFC middleweight champion, is currently one of the most active champions in the UFC. Adesanya fought three times last year and is now prepared to defend his recently reclaimed middleweight title, marking his second fight this year. Coming off a KO (punches) victory over Alex Pereira at UFC 287, Adesanya is all set to defend his title against Sean Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) in Sydney on September 9 at UFC 293.

Despite his upcoming fight, the champion is also involved in an ongoing tussle with Dricus Du Plessis, who was unable to meet the quick turnaround requirement to fight ‘Stylebender’ at UFC 293. Adesanya recently talked to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn ahead of his UFC 293 title defense and shared his thoughts on Du Plessis and his next probable opponent if he wins his upcoming fight.

Israel Adesanya gets candid on fighting Dricus Du Plessis

In a recent interview with Mike Bohn, Adesanya was questioned about contenders in the middleweight division. Mike Bohn also questioned Adesanya about fighting Dricus Du Plessis after his upcoming scheduled fight. Adesanya said, “Let’s see if he (Du Plessis) shows up, but also, I’ll see how I feel. I’ll see how I feel. Um, I do want that fight. I feel like that would be one of the most important fights in sporting history.” The response from Adesanya highlights his intention of fighting Du Plessis next, though the current champ wants to do it on his own terms.

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Building on Adesanya’s response, Bohn asked Adesanya to elaborate on why he feels his fight with Du Plessis will be one of the most important fights in sporting history. Adesanya replied, “I mean, you’re a smart man, Mike. I think that’d be one of the most important fights in sporting history. But I mean that when I say history, so yeah. Like I’ll see how I feel because again, time keeps on ticking. Time waits for no man.”

Adesanya previews upcoming title defense

During the interview, the middleweight champion was also questioned about his plans for activity in the remaining months following this fight. Additionally, Bohn asked Adesanya whether he might consider waiting until 2024 to engage in another fight. “I don’t know, I’ll see how I feel, you’ll see how I feel,” Adesanya replied. “I want to take out Strickland first because first things first.”

Weeks earlier, Adesanya highlighted his plans to fight Khamzat Chimaev if he wins his upcoming fight with Paulo Costa. With Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev as the next potential opponents, fans will have to wait and see how Adesanya’s fight with Strickland goes. However, the recent twists have surely changed the dynamics of the middleweight division.

As the title match between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland is approaches, who are you supporting? Comment below.

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