Already this weekend in Las Vegas (USA) the UFC 290 tournament will take place, which must present a new challenger in the middleweight division, where Israel Adesanya rules. The opposition is so bad that the New Zealander will probably have to beat Robert Whittaker for the third time.
What was the second fight between Adesanya and Whittaker:
“Worst title defense.” The judges cheekily gave Adesanya a controversial victory
Dricus du Plessis, who quickly rose to the top 5 (perhaps due to the fact that a new name was urgently needed), could prevent this. The representative of South Africa is not particularly believed before the fight, especially the bookies and pundits. The reason is simple: the resistance problems of the African and the level of opposition in the person of the versatile Whittaker.
Du Plessis, 29, first made a name for himself in his native Africa, becoming the Extreme Fighting Championship champion in two weight divisions. He then moved up to the strong Polish KSW, where he clinched the welterweight title. And eventually he made it to the UFC, where he’s going on a five-fight win series.
In the world’s top promotion, Drikus managed to defeat Brad Tavares, Darren Teal, Derek Brunson. Yes, he has four finishes in five fights, but it’s enough to watch his last fight. In the second round with Brunson, du Plessis barely got to his feet, but his kickboxing foundation was still affected.
“This bastard is the worst of the best fighters in the entire UFC. The first time I saw him was in 2020 against Marcus Pérez. I’ll tell you du Plessis is a tough guy, he’s tall, strong. But his technique is one of the worst. Terrible heart. However, he still wins! – said the Brazilian Renato Moicano about du Plessis.
We can safely assume that the African’s victory is more beneficial to the UFC. Because he has some experience with Adesanya. Not like Alex Pereira, but still. The fact is that in 2014 they had a sparring match. Israel said he was better off on his feet and lost in the fight.
“I remember. Combat is combat. And you know what else? I just came from China. He did kickboxing there. I didn’t have MMA, nothing. I just did kickboxing. My jiu-jitsu was dumb, very dumb,” he said. Israel.
How Adesanya knocked out Pereira:
Video
The king has returned! Adesanya knocks out Pereira on the fourth attempt
But du Plessis does not remember any combat on the rack.
“We trained together in Thailand. I think I was 19 at the time. Even then, he had a good track record in MMA. I was leading 3-0 when we were training. He said that I defeated him on the ground. In this he is 100% right. I really beat him during the fight.
It was his way of escaping by saying, “Yeah, but I hit him with a punch,” Drykus retorted.
But that didn’t hurt Adesanya, it was the fact that Drykus questioned his belonging to Africa. Israel, by the way, went to fight under the flags of China and New Zealand. While du Plessis is clean in this regard. Indirectly, he also played Kamara Usman and Francis Ngannou. I went without names, but everyone understood everything.
“Did these belts ever go to Africa? As far as I know, they have been to the US and New Zealand. I’m going to take the belt to Africa. I am an African who fights in the UFC. Cameron Saayman and I breathe African air. We woke up in Africa every day, we trained in Africa, we were born in Africa, we grew up in Africa, we still live in Africa,” Drikus said.
Dricus du Plessis
Photo: Chris Unger/Getty Images
And that’s when Izzy ran out of patience.
“I never questioned his ethnicity, I never said that he was not African, despite the colonization. He lived in Africa, he was born in South Africa, he had no doubt about it. But we know who the real African is. “Who the hell are you to tell me who I am, who is Kamaru, who is Ngannou? Are you stupid?” Adesanya replied.
“I never said that I am more African than Adesanya. I’m just stating one fact: I’m the only UFC title contender who was born in Africa, lives in Africa, and trains in Africa every day.
He never said he was a fake African and all that. But it seems that Israel was touched to the core. He constantly refers to himself as Kiwi, Chinese, Nigerian. He was born in Africa and he is African, but he does not live here. This is where our difference lies,” du Plessis replied.
Du Plessis’s position seems more convincing here. As a wrestler he is a product of Africa, he was even a champion in a local promotion. Unlike the same Adesanya.
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However, on this fact, you can build the promotion of the battle. The only thing left to do is get past Whittaker, which with Drikus’s stamina won’t be as easy to do. Robert is not intimidated by a high pace for a couple of minutes.
“If fights were won on paper, the sport would be very different. I understand the threat that Drykus represents to me. One of the main reasons for Drikus’ success is that his rivals underestimate him,” said Robert.
