21 January 2024 , 12:09
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Israel Adesanya welcomed a showdown with Dricus Du Plessis after the South African called him out after beating Sean Strickland at UFC 297.
Du Plessis overcame Strickland in a bruising middleweight encounter in Canada on Saturday night. It was a close bout, but he triumphed on a split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) before making it clear what he wanted to happen next.
Speaking inside the Octagon, Du Plessis said: “There was another guy who tried to take my shine. He lost his shine, now I have your shine. He didn’t get into the cage tonight, but Israel Adesanya, get your ass back in the cage so we can settle the score.”
The fight was supposed to happen in Sydney in September, but du Plessis could not fight Adesanya because of an injury. Strickland filled the void instead and ended up shocking the MMA world by beating Adesanya.
It now looks like Du Plessis vs Adesanya could happen at UFC 300. As the South African told TNT Sports : "It's nothing personal towards him, if it sounded like that. I didn't mean it that way, I meant it as 'that's what the fans want to see,' I want to give the fans the fight. I fight for the fans, I go out there and I do my job. If the fans want Izzy... that's the fight I want."
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Adesanya was watching and made it clear what he thought of the idea on social media. After posting a clip of the call-out, he wrote on his Instagram story: “Never stole shine. Never lost mine!!”. In another post, he added: “This arc in my story was written long ago. Our paths are destined to cross again. Stay tuned for the next episode, thanks for watching. We Write History.”
Israel Adesanya made it clear what he thought (Instagram / @stylebender)
He gave the fight the thumbs up (Instagram / @stylebender)Du Plessis was left with a battered face after the Stickland fight and said: “I honestly thought with the takedowns, I made sure on every round. I could feel it was a close fight. I felt that he gets up really well. I felt the first three rounds was give and take but those last two rounds I know. I was there for rounds four and five. Who says this guy’s not a five round fighter?
“He has a super, super strong jab. It feels like somebody hits you with a rock. It was imperative that I make him go backwards. If I’m pressuring with this physique, I promise you’re going to get tired.
"Sean Strickland, you said to death, I tried to kill you in here tonight, didn’t quite get there but you are one hell of a man. Thank you for bringing the best out of me. It was an honour sharing the cage with you.”