Daniel Cormier firmly believes that Dricus Du Plessis is the last person Israel Adesanya would want to suffer a loss against due to the intense nature of their rivalry.
Israel, the current UFC middleweight champion, recently achieved a remarkable victory over former champion and long-standing adversary, Alex Pereira, at UFC 287.
The win, marked by a devastating knockout, allowed Adesanya to reclaim the title and secure his first triumph over ‘Poatan’ in their four encounters. Following this triumph, Israel expressed his intention to face Du Plessis as his next opponent.
Cormier believes Du Plessis represents a major challenge for Adesanya
In a surprising turn of events, Du Plessis shocked the MMA world by defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 earlier this month. This impressive victory granted him a shot at the title and an opportunity to face Adesanya inside the octagon, thus adding excitement and anticipation to their impending fight.
“Rogan sat back down, Joe just has all this knowledge. I go what was that all about?” said Cormier. “He goes, well Dricus is Dutch and the Dutch colonists took over Africa and apartheid and he just went into this whole thing.”
“He pulls up his phone and gives me a quick breakdown. I screen grab it and sent it to my group message. As they read it, they’re like as I get more and more into it I can see how Izzy was so upset because reality was it just looked like there was no direction behind it,” DC continued.
Daniel is uncertain about whether the rivalry between Dricus and Israel would dissipate after their fight. He believes that Du Plessis is the one opponent that Adesanya would be particularly unwilling to lose against, given the intensity of their animosity.
And considering how the South African has managed to defeat one tough opponent after the other along with his unorthodox style, he may not even be a massive underdog against Izzy should they get to fight.
Beef between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya
Israel has shed light on the motivations behind his profanity-laden outburst directed at his UFC rival, Dricus, during Saturday night’s event.
Don’t back play the victim…stand on your original statement. Say it with yo chest nigga!! I never discredited you as a real African, you tried to discredit 3 Real African UFC Champions. You started this, and I will finish this! That’s not a threat, that’s a promise. Gbo gbo yin… pic.twitter.com/2O9R2TpO1J
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) July 11, 2023
Following Du Plessis’ impressive victory over middleweight standout Rob Whittaker, which culminated in a brutal second-round finish, ‘Stylebender’ stormed into the octagon.
This win has positioned Du Plessis as a potential opponent for Adesanya, the reigning middleweight champion from New Zealand, setting the stage for a compelling showdown between the South African star and the Kiwi.
Their rivalry initially started after Dricus’s comments on who the ‘real-African’ fighter was. With time, the situation only seems to be getting worse.
Do you think this strange middleweight rivalry is justified? Share with us in the comments.
