UFC Rumors: Israel Adesanya Gives the Biggest Hint Yet for Dricus Du Plessis Title Fight at UFC 305

Dricus Du Plessis has remained in talks for a fight with Israel Adesanya for quite some time now. With the rumors reaching a fever pitch, ‘The Last Stylebender’ has fueled the rumor mill with a YouTube video. It appears as if the former middleweight champion is training hard for a fight against du Plessis.

Sean Strickland claimed the middleweight belt from Adesanya at UFC 293. But then he failed to defend his title against Du Plessis at UFC 297. Following a hard-fought performance by both fighters, the judges decided that it was Du Plessis’ who won. Shortly after, rumors of Adesanya vs. Du Plessis began to conquer the entire world of mixed martial arts. After Adesanya gave the green signal for the fight against ‘Stillnocks’, rumors flared up for a potential showdown at UFC 305. Let’s learn more about the hint dropped by Adesanya.

Israel Adesanya hints at fighting Dricus Du Plessis

The 34-year-old mixed martial artist recently took to his YouTube channel and released a video showcasing his intense training. Stylebender’s video began with a tall mural of the fighter. Subsequently, the scene shifted to him executing supine punches while holding a pair of 30-kilo dumbbells. Judging the fighter’s training, even his strength conditioning coach, Abiola Beckley, said, “I guess what he’s executing now it’s quite insane, you know.”

Afterward, the scene shifted to Adesanya pushing a bar against the stoppers on a smith machine. Beckley then revealed that Adesanya was intensely training his muscle memory with movements by performing jumps and advanced footwork training. But that wasn’t all, Adesanya went on to perform weighted modified step-ups to enhance the muscles in his legs. He then returned to supine punches and what seemed like single-handed kettlebell rows. And after a few rounds of training his arms, he went for pull-ups and sled drags. His coach seemed pretty happy with Adesanya’s performance.

But training went on after he got home. Following a delicious meal, the fighter turned on his gaming console and played ‘Helldivers’. When asked what this style of training was for, ‘The Last Stylebender’ let out a chuckle and said it was to train himself to remain calm in stressful situations, while enhancing his hand-eye coordination. He further claimed that he didn’t rage or yell like many other fighters out there. 

With everything that he did in the video, it seems the intense preparation is for the rumored fight against Du Plessis. After the South African mixed martial artist claimed that he was the ‘real African’, Adesanya has been itching to fight with him. And with the training montage, the rumors of the fight have been fueled yet again. But did you know that Du Plessis dismissed the fight against Adesanya after his last victory?

Despite dismissing Adesanya ‘Stillnocks’ wants to fight ‘The Last Stylebender’

Following Strickland’s victory over Adesanya at UFC 293, Du Plessis claimed that ‘Izzy’ became irrelevant to him as soon as ‘Tarzan’ became the champion. He simply wanted to fight for the belt. But before he became the champ, ‘Stillnocks’, while talking to Jon Anik, revealed that he doesn’t have to fight Adesanya. The fighter said, “According to me right now, I never have to fight him [Adesanya]. That’s fine. I don’t care.”

With things getting heated, Dana White might soon have to book the two to fight. Nevertheless, Adesanya’s training and the intensity of it simply fans the flames of the rumors a bit brighter.

What are your thoughts on Adesanya’s training? Do you think he will fight Du Plessis? And if they do end up facing each other in the Octagon, who do you think would win? Let us know in the comments down below.