Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya have been on a collision course since du Plessis knocked out Robert Whittaker in a shocking upset last year, a performance du Plessis claims sparked the heated face-off between Saturday’s headliners moments later.
“It was 100% a fight-or-flight response from him.”
Former UFC middleweight champion Whittaker was a sizable favorite heading into the du Plessis fight. The South African slugger shocked fans by overwhelming Whittaker en route to a second-round TKO. It was an impressive performance but whether it trumped Adesanya’s wins against Whittaker is disputable.
Du Plessis’ showing was certainly more emphatic than Adesanya’s competitive decision win against Whittaker in February 2022. But that was Adesanya’s second win over the former champ. Adesanya first captured the UFC middleweight title with a career-defining knockout. Adesanya made Whittaker, a heralded champion, look like a fish out of water before stopping him cold. Some argue Adesanya’s clean KO and disarming striking is more impressive than du Plessis’ whirlwind finish.
Du Plessis didn’t clarify which Adesanya-Whittaker fight he was comparing to his performance, but it probably doesn’t matter. Du Plessis downplays his attempts to play mind games, yet it’s clear he’s gotten under Adesanya’s skin more than most.
“He made himself look like a fool,” du Plessis said. “But he obviously went back, looked at the footage, and told himself, and hopefully the people around him told him, ‘You look like a complete jackass. Don’t do that again.’ He changed it. You can see he’s been trained. He’s been trained not to lose his cool. But all that goes out the window once fight night comes.
“Anything that’s being said right now leading into the fight makes no difference. We’re going to get into that Octagon, the door will close and we will go to war. All the talking will be done and it’ll be spectacular.”
Check out the full interview with Dricus du Plessis below.
