Israel Adesanya, the former two-time UFC Middleweight champion, recently praised Dricus du Plessis, the current titleholder. Adesanya had fought du Plessis at UFC 305, where he lost via fourth-round submission.
After defeating Adesanya in his first title defense, Dricus du Plessis won against Sean Strickland at UFC 312. Next up for “Stillknocks” is a potential matchup against Khamzat Chimaev.
Israel Adesanya Provided Insights on Dricus Du Plessis’ Fighting Style
Dricus du Plessis’s rise to becoming the undisputed Middleweight champion was surprising, mainly due to his fighting style, which many deemed “awkward.” Adesanya has first-hand experience fighting du Plessis, and “The Last Stylebender” recently provided his theory about the South African champion’s fighting style.
“He’s stubborn, man. He’s just stubborn, and it’s even funny to watch. And I give him all the respect. I give him all the respect,” Adesanya said on his recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast.
“Look, he’s so good at what he does no matter what, and I’ve said, what did I say before? He’s the best sh*t fighter in the world. Somehow he makes it look good,” Adesanya added.
Henry Cejudo, the podcast co-host, concurred, citing it as the trend and that other champions like Merab Dvalishvili and Belal Muhammad are similar. However, Adesanya disagreed, saying Dvalishvili’s striking is better.
Cejudo agreed but pointed out that champions are now mixing up all the styles, and Adesanya concurred and mentioned that the phenomenon has to do with the phases in MMA.
“It happens in MMA, there’s always phases. Like there was a phase where the strikers were on top, like you know, was out here. Like even our gym was the best gym in the world at one point, like voted and also just by wins, right? So it’s a trend,” Adesanya said.
“The Last Stylebender” added that brilliant coaches began to work around the tactics, and their gym is now reshuffling the deck. Though he lost to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Riyadh in his recent fight, Adesanya assured that he has many new tricks up his sleeve, which he would like to show in his next fight.
Israel Adesanya Wants Dricus Du Plessis’ Familiar Foe As His Next Opponent
Israel Adesanya had recently trained with David Goggins, the Navy SEAL turned motivational speaker and trainer. Before beginning their gruelling training session, Adesanya revealed to Goggins who he wants to fight next.
“I told Hunter [Campbell] already. I told my coach, ‘Yeah, it’s time.’ Like, I just knew. So, and I know who I have a feeling who I want to fight. You’ll like this one. I got to get some get back. [Sean] Strickland,” Adesanya said to Goggins. The answer hyped up Goggins, who had received criticism from Sean Strickland.
Strickland had won the title from Adesanya at UFC 293. He last fought Dricus du Plessis for the Middleweight title at UFC 312, a rematch of their first fight at UFC 297, in which “Tarzan” lost the belt to “Stillknocks.”