Israel Adesanya (right), seen here in action against Sean Strickland last year, is determined to reclaim the UFC middleweight title from Dricus du Plessis. Photo: EPA
Former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes that fans will see the “best me” this weekend when he headlines the UFC 305 card with current title-holder Dricus du Plessis.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans across the world are waiting with bated breath as the heated rivalry between Nigerian-born New Zealander Adesanya and South Africa’s Du Plessis will finally reach boiling point when the two ‘alphas’ come face to face in Perth on Sunday.
Adesanya was one of the most active combat sport champions in history and is hands down one of – if not the – greatest UFC champions and middleweights to walk this earth.
Since winning the interim UFC middleweight belt against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, Adesanya has competed in 11 straight title fights in four years.
His last non-title fight was five years ago when he threw down with one of his role models, fight icon Anderson Silva, whose name is also in the conversation regarding who the greatest UFC middleweight is.
A trademark of Adesanya’s fight game is competing at a breakneck pace, which – coupled with his high activity rate – eventually caught up with him in his last bout with Sean Strickland, who outclassed Adesanya via unanimous decision at UFC 293 in September to be crowned the US’s latest 185-pound champion.
While giving credit to Strickland for his excellent pressure and intelligent striking, Adesanya admitted that his body “was not firing”.
He eventually took an 11-month break, his longest hiatus yet since he started his combat sports journey in 2010, and a rest period akin to what most UFC champions take in-between fights.
Now, the Nigerian-born star is back and rejuvenated, and feels excited to remind the masses who he is and what he is capable of.
“I think you guys will see the best me you have seen yet,” said Adesanya during a UFC media scrum.
“I am the biggest I have ever been, the most muscular I have ever been, I feel faster, too. Sometimes I surprise myself with the speed I am hitting with.
“I am not hitting hard, just really sharp. I feel like a blade in this one ... It feels good to refresh myself and reset myself. And now let’s get it (on).”
‘Stylebender’ Adesanya’s return has also been fuelled by a desire to make Du Plessis pay for his comments about being the first African champion.
New look, same @Stylebender ✨ #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/Uw1gYAn5kP
— UFC (@ufc) August 15, 2024
What started as a decent connection between two athletes years ago took an ugly turn when Du Plessis said he would like to become the first African-born, based and trained champion.
He argued that Adesanya, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (Cameroon), and former welterweight king Kamaru Usman (Nigeria) were based in other countries when they became UFC champions.
This statement infuriated many fans and fighters, including Adesanya, who stated that Du Plessis failed to understand the historical issues, lack of opportunities and socio-economic issues many African athletes faced.
During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Adesanya said: “I respect Dricus, but he’s a b**ch for what he said, saying I trained in Africa, I do this in Africa, and there are people who are forced to flee their own country because of a better opportunity.
“He’ll never understand that because he lives behind the f***ing gates of his privileged life in South Africa, and he’s able to do that there.
“So, someone like Francis, who had to cross the desert to go overseas to train – if you know Francis’ story, you can’t call him not a real African champion because he didn’t train in Africa.
“Like, bro – are you f***ing kidding? The guy got sent back out to the desert six, seven times to go die, and he survived.”
Perth crowd showed OUT for open workouts 🔥#UFC305 is getting closer! pic.twitter.com/DuOV7ps7Em
— UFC (@ufc) August 15, 2024
Just yesterday, during an interview with former double UFC champion and current MMA personality Daniel Cormier, Adesanya cut a more relaxed but still intense figure, sharing his thoughts on Du Plessis when asked if he had “real hard feelings toward Dricus”.
“I don’t feel any way about him, I don’t hate him. I met him and his brother in Thailand a few years ago, they were lovely. I think they were fans back then. I’m not a guy who harbours hate like that for someone, but what he said was blasphemous, and I’ll make him take accountability for that,” said Adesanya.
“Yesterday (Wednesday) I saw his coach (Morné Visser), he winked at me, I walked up to him, I shook his hand and shook his teammates’ hands. He is the champion right now.
“I have a big energy as well, I am Israel Adesanya, so there’s always going to be that target on my back, and with that comes this (Adesanya knocks his fists together intensely), the clash, you know – two alphas just looking at each other through the fence and acknowledging okay, let’s go then.
“That is what this is about. I didn’t really prepare to win the belt or make history – I’m just prepared to kill this guy,” concluded Adesanya.
* The UFC305 main card starts at 4am SA time and will be available on SuperSport. Stay tuned to MzansiMMA on Instagram for more updates.
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