UFC Rumors: Israel Adesanya Granted Title Shot at UFC 300 as Sean Strickland Loses Out on Rematch Calls Against Champ Dricus Du Plessis, Fans React

The UFC scene is shaping up to be an exciting one as we slowly inch closer to UFC 300. Dricus du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya for a fight after beating Sean Strickland to win the middleweight title at UFC 297. Not too long after, ‘Izzy’ shared a story on his Instagram handle, sparking rumors that he might indeed be preparing for a UFC 300 return, which has gotten fans excited.

The ‘real African’ debate could come to an end this year. Israel Adesanya responded to Dricus Du Plessis’ call out, showing an interest in a title fight. Now, the former two-time champion has added more fuel to the rumor of his return in April. Let’s see what the buzz is about.

Is Israel Adesanya starting his fight camp for the Dricus Du Plessis fight?

‘The Last Stylebender’ recently spurred a lot of rumors surrounding a potential fight against Dricus Du Plessis. He took to social media and shared a picture of him during a running session, captioning the post: “Ah sh*t, here we go again.” This led people to speculate if he’s talking about starting his training camp for a return at UFC 300. Dana White is yet to announce the main event of the fight and fans believe that ‘Izzy’ fighting Du Plessis may be the direction that the UFC will make.

Not only that, but in Israel Adesanya’s subsequent Instagram stories, the former 2-time champion also shared a snap from a gym, which proved the fans’ theory about the Nigerian-born Kiwi fighter gearing up for his return. This speculation has got fans excited, and they shared their opinion about Adesanya’s return in a post shared on Reddit. Let’s see what they had to say.

Fans want to see “the most dominant champ in the last 10 years” back in action

The fans were all in with the idea of Israel Adesanya’s return. Despite the setbacks he’s had in his personal life and the controversies he was involved in, the fans appreciate what ‘The Last Stylebender’ brings to the table. They believe that there is no one who has dominated as a champion more than ‘Izzy’ in the last decade.

“Despite all the hate. And no doubt he’s a weirdo (but what fighter isn’t). What’s crazy is he’s the most dominant champ in the last 10 years. Has twice as many defense as Khabib. More than twice as many title shots. Izzy’s good for the sport”

“Whatever you wanna say about his antics and persona, he’s active and he makes fight week exciting.”

The fans further mentioned that, for them, Dricus du Plessis fighting Israel Adesanya at UFC is a sensible move for Dana White. Moreover, they also admitted to having fun whenever ‘Izzy’ pops up on UFC programming.

“Izzy DDP makes a lot of sense for UFC 300 as it’s realistic (unlike Mcgregor fighting) and Izzy is one of the UFC’s biggest stars. Dana has said he’s now open to a UFC Africa and IK the timeframe wouldn’t work but Izzy DDP is literally perfect for headlining a UFC Africa card. Feel like UFC Africa never happens if Izzy DDP happens first”

“Good sh*t. The UFC is more fun with Izzy active. One bad performance is definitely possible to bounce back from. I believe he has it in him and would love to see him vs ddp. I really like Izzy’s chances, too.”

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Some fans also claimed that there were no viable candidates to challenge du Plessis for the middleweight title. Hence, it makes sense for Adesanya to step into a fight that should have happened in 2023. As such, the fans also believe that there is no bigger fight than du Plessis vs. Adesanya for UFC 300.

“Who else deserves a shot? Rob and Strickland both just lost. DDP vs Izzy will sell and arguably should have happened last year.”

“Izzy Vs DPP is the biggest fight they can make outside of Conor or Jon. It’s been what they are planning for 300 this whole time”

When it comes to Sean Strickland, he shared a post with the statistics from his fight against Du Plessis but did not talk about a rematch. Nevertheless, Dana White is not on board with giving ‘Tarzan’ a rematch just yet, which opens the door for Israel Adesanya. However, we will have to wait and see how things pan out in the days to come.

Read More: Nina-Marie Daniele Reacts to Sean Strickland’s Heartbreaking Loss Against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297