Israel Adesanya is here again, teasing MMA fans about his possible return. And this time, the former champ chose to be more direct, suggesting he’ll be joining the historic UFC 300 card in April.
It remains unknown when exactly Adesanya will come back to the cage. “The Last Stylebender” decided to take a “long” break after losing the middleweight belt to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. The fighter, however, faced tons of callouts from Alex Pereira. Adesanya, however, is uninterested in the challenge and instead wants to have new middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis in his return.
After “Stillknocks” secured the belt, the New Zealander made his callout, and it was received positively by the champ. The question now is when the two will meet, as rumors continue to claim that it could possibly be in April at UFC 300. Adesanya then further echoed the possibility by posting on his Instagram Story an image of the 2007 film “300,” suggesting his participation at UFC 300.
Israel Adesanya's recent Instagram story hinting that he may be on #UFC300 😱 pic.twitter.com/b1yu4PTxzt
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) February 1, 2024
While this might excite fans, it is important to note that the promotion still hasn’t given any hint about the match. Also, while Du Plessis is considering April 13 for his next outing, the South African stressed in a recent interview that this would still depend on his recovery after his recent fight.
As for Adesanya, there are only less than three months to prepare for the fight if the claim is true. According to the fighter in a recent interview, his plan is to get back to training at the end of February.
With all this, while there might be details supporting the possible Du Plessis vs. Adesanya match in April, the current conditions of both parties show otherwise. On a positive note, both fighters are interested in participating in the rumored UFC Africa event in the future. According to Du Plessis, this would be the perfect location for their fight due to their African blood.
“If UFC Africa is going to happen, you’re going to look very far beyond to find a more perfect fight than me vs. Israel Adesanya and that’s a fight I want right here on home soil where he said he wants to make it happen,” said Du Plessis last month.
