UFC 300 will be a historic event that many UFC fighters want to be part of. Yet, if Dricus Du Plessis is to be asked, he’d rather have his anticipated match against Israel Adesanya in their homeland, Africa.
Du Plessis is the new middleweight champ after snatching the belt from Sean Strickland at UFC 297 last weekend. After this, callouts for “Stillknocks” started coming, including one from Khamzat Chimaev. However, for the South African, the perfect target is Adesanya.
The former two-time middleweight champ is currently on break. The exact timeline of his return remains unknown, but Du Plessis seems determined to have the bout, which is being viewed as a grudge fight by many due to the history of the two. Fortunately, Adesanya is also interested in the fight, saying he would “test that ass” after congratulating Du Plessis for his victory.
If “The Last Stylebender” would indeed be Du Plessis’ next opponent, the next essential detail to arrange is the location of their fight. According to the champ, this would depend on the state of his body after his match with Strickland. If things go well, the 30-year-old believes the UFC 300 might be a good choice, given the prominence of the event.
“Nothing is certain yet, but that is what we want to do,” Du Plessis said when asked about his intention to enter UFC 300 in a press conference in his country. “UFC 300 is a big possibility if my body allows it. I took some punishment obviously with some small injuries.
“I’m not 100 percent sure what the gravity of those injuries are. I’m going to the doctor after this and making sure concussion tests are done, making sure we do the scans, making sure that there’s nothing serious injured. Then UFC 300 is a big, big possibility.”
With the event just more than two months away, joining the event would be a quick turnaround for Du Plessis. But he will not be alone in this issue. Adesanya, despite having his last fight in September, still hasn’t started his preparations, with the fighter himself recently revealing that the plan is to come back in training at the end of February. With this, UFC 300 seems like a murky chance for both fighters, but Du Plessis has another option in mind: UFC Africa. The champ thinks this will be the event both parties would love to accept, with both of them having 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.
