Israel Adesanya
UFC

“I will show Du Plessis who I am,” says Israel Adesanya

One of the most heated rivalries in combat sports appeared to be put to rest earlier this year when Israel Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira in the UFC Octagon. On April 8th, Adesanya defeated his Brazilian opponent in UFC 287.

Adesanya, who had lost their three prior bouts across kickboxing and MMA, appeared to be in severe trouble in the second round after a succession of kicks to his lead leg by Pereira, and the Brazilian went in for the kill. Adesanya had lost their previous three fights spanning kickboxing and MMA. As the New Zealander began to back up against the cage, Pereira began to unload on his opponent, who seemed to be hurting, and it appeared as though it would only be a matter of time until he claimed a fourth win in their long-running battle.

But after taking a barrage of punches and a knee to the head, Adesanya came out of no where to react with a ruthless right hook that visibly perplexed Pereira. The rapt crowd in Miami’s Kaseya Centre exploded in approval as the challenger followed it up with a two-punch combo that sent his opponent slamming to the flooring and a hammer fist to end the fight. Adesanya finally won the fight.

Some in the MMA world wanted them to schedule their fifth bout overall and third under the UFC banner right away, but Pereira instead went to light heavyweight, where he’ll make his debut against Jan Blachowicz on July 29 in Salt Lake City.

On July 8, Du Plessis is scheduled to compete against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290; Adesanya is rooting for Du Plessis to win so that the two of them may square off against one another.

“I’m going to manifest Du Plessis winning this fight in the first round, and when he does, I’m going to be right there in the cage so he can turn around in September,” Adesanya told reporters on The MMA Hour. “No bullsshit, no ‘I’m hurt,’ this and that, nope. We’re going to fight in Sydney in September. Because Rob is Rob, whatever, I’ve already got a plan for Rob if it’s Rob. But I really, really, really hope it’s DDP, because I will show him who I am.”

Dana White, the president of the UFC, has suggested that if Pereira defeats Blachowicz, it would “make sense” for him to contend for the 205-pound title. If he succeeds, Adesanya says he would seriously consider going up and scheduling another fight.

“If I were to bet money on it, no I don’t think it happens. 205, I’ve been there, it’s hard. If he wins the 205 belt, though, they might give him a fast track like they did with me, and then they’re going to have a magic, crazy, epic fight at 205 with me and him. That will be us for the fifth time,” explained Adesanya on The MMA Hour.

Adesanya is aiming for September to battle Du Plessis in Sydney at UFC 293. He has competed in Australia several times during his career, and it was there that he first earned the undisputed UFC middleweight champion, defeating Whittaker at UFC 243. Adesanya went on to defeat Whittaker again at UFC 271.

 

 

Priyadarshan G

Priyadarshan G

priyadarshan

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.