UFC 290 is officially in the books and the event has produced some big surprises. In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno lost his UFC men’s flyweight title to long-time rival, Alexandre Pantoja. However, the shock on the card took place in the fight between Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis. Despite being a huge underdog, du Plessis got the job done and presented himself as the next challenger for the middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya.
After the fight, Israel Adesanya went inside the Octagon and had a great confrontation with Dricus du Plessis. It basically confirmed that the bout between the two is happening and it is reportedly being targeted for UFC 293 in Australia. However, that will not be the first time when Adesanya and du Plessis will have shared the cage. Back in 2014, Izzy and Dricus had a sparring session and it apparently did not go well for the current middleweight champ.
ADESANYA ENTERS THE OCTAGON WITH DU PLESSIS #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/WBBsXOEuyE
— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2023
Adesanya previously admitted to losing out on a grappling session to the South African fighter. Adesanya added that he was living and having kickboxing fights in China at the time and did not have the proper training to compete in MMA. Hence, once he started sparring with Dricus du Plessis on the mat, the latter got the better of Adesanya in grappling.
The Kiwi fighter added, “Also you know what? I’m coming from China. I didn’t (have MMA). I was doing kickboxing over there, I had no MMA nothing. I was kickboxing. I had MMA already back while it wasn’t sharp, it was blunt. My jiu-jitsu was blunt, very blunt.” Adesanya further stated, “I remember like on the grappling, he had me, but on striking, I just messed him up.” (h/t via IMPAULSIVE)
What does Dricus du Plessis have to say about sparring Israel Adesanya?
Dricus du Plessis has quickly established himself as one of the most credible threats in the middleweight division. Him calling himself a real African fighter as opposed to Israel Adesanya as he still resides in South Africa, has riled up the fans. In an interview with The Schmo ahead of the event, Dricus du Plessis had his say on Adesanya being the best middleweight of all time.
While du Plessis still thinks Anderson Silva is the middleweight GOAT, he does think Adesanya is a great fighter. In the same interview, he also spoke about the time he sparred with Adesanya. However, unlike Adesanya’s claim, Dricus added that he did not have any striking exchanges with the current champ. He added, “He said I beat him in grappling exchanges. He’s 100% correct in that.”
du Plessis continued, “I did manhandle him in the grappling or wrestling exchanges. But we did not do a single round of striking together, not one. And, I mean that was his way of saving himself saying, ‘No, but I beat him in striking.’ We never did striking together, not one round.”
So it does look like there is already a big rivalry brewing between the two fighters. Which fighter do you believe, Dricus du Plessis or Israel Adesanya? Let us know in the comments down below.