Israel Adesanya coy on title fight with Dricus du Plessis after UFC 293 return: ‘I’ll see how I feel’
Undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya has claimed that a future fight with Dricus du Plessis could be heralded as one for the more important combat sports contests in history, however, claims that he will still weigh-up a potential clash after his UFC 293 return next month.
Adesanya, a two-time and incumbent undisputed middleweight champion, is slated to kick-off his second reign atop the 185lbs pile next month in Sydney, Australia – taking on surging middleweight contender, Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 293.
Long-slated to serve in a headlining slot on the card, City Kickboxing staple, Adesanya was initially expected to fight the aforenoted number one ranked, du Plessis at the event, however, a lingering foot injury prevented the South African’s timely turnaround for a heated grudge match.
And in recent weeks, Adesanya’s head coach, Eugene Bareman has speculated that his student may assess other options outside of du Plessis post-UFC 293, claiming the Pretoria native may have missed his chance to compete against the reigning champion.
Israel Adesanya comments on future fight with arch-rival Dricus du Plessis
Remaining non-entirely committal on a potential pairing, Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya claimed that while the pairing comes with great importance, he would see how he felt in regards to the matchup following his return ‘Down Under’.
“We’ll see if he (Dricus du Plessis) shows up, but also, I’ll see how I feel,” Israel Adesanya told MMA Junkie. “I’ll see how I feel. I do want that fight. I feel like that will be one of the most important fights in sporting history. I mean that when I say in history. I’ll see how I feel because again, time keeps on ticking. Time waits for no man.”
Clinching middleweight gold for the second time back in April atop a UFC 287 card, Adesanya landed a second round come-from-behind KO win over division champion, Alex Pereira, stopping the Brazilian with a thunderous knockout.
For du Plessis, the promotional-perfect contender himself claimed that a fight with Adesanya was something he would hope to land in an Octagon-first trip to Africa for the UFC.
