Spiteful: Dricus du Plessis looking to knock out Israel Adesanya standing
Dricus Du Plessis plans to beat Israel Adesanya on his feet.
On Saturday, August 17 (Sunday for those in Australia), ‘Stillknocks’ will head to The Land Down Under to defend the middleweight crown against two-time champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.
It will be Du Plessis’ first time competing since his title-winning performance against Sean Strickland—the same man who handed ‘The Last Stylebender’ a five-round shellacking nearly a year ago.
With fight night a few short weeks away, Du Plessis’ coach at the CIT Performance Institute, Morne Visser, recently offered some insight into how his fighter plans to approach their long-awaited clash and dispelled any rumors that ‘DDP’ may rely on a wrestle-heavy approach against the New Zealander.
“We’ll fight Izzy wherever it is that Izzy wants to take it,” Visser said during an appearance on EFC Engaged. “We are 100% where we need to be. They think that Dricus is going to shoot and take him down. No way. We want to beat him on the feet.”
Finishing 19 of his 21 career wins, Du Plessis has 10 submissions and nine knockouts to his credit, proving without a shadow of a doubt that no matter where the fight goes, he’s capable of scoring a highlight-reel stoppage.
‘Poatan’ backs Adesanya to defeat Dricus Du Plessis
Of course, that’ll be much easier said than done against the ‘Stylebender’ who’s only been stopped once in his mixed martial arts career, that coming against current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
But despite their multi-promotional rivalry, ‘Poatan’ is still backing Adesanya to come out on top and reclaim the middleweight strap for a history-making third time in Perth.
“I don’t see Adesanya losing,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “Just because he said that about me, doesn’t mean I’ll say it back. It’s what I think. I don’t think he loses this fight. I hope he wins because he has a beautiful story. I think he has to continue his story. He isn’t a young guy.”
