UFC fighter Dricus Du Plessis may have jeopardized his middleweight title shot by turning down an eight-week turnaround to face Israel Adesanya, and is now unclear about his future in the division after Dana White suggested a rematch between Sean Strickland and Adesanya, despite Du Plessis’ belief that he deserves the title shot.
Dricus Du Plessis has expressed confusion over why he might have upset some people within the UFC. He established himself as the clear-cut No.1 contender for the middleweight title in July following a dominant second-round finish of Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. However, after being unable to accommodate the UFC’s eight-week timeline for a face-off with Israel Adesanya, Du Plessis saw the title shot passed onto Sean Strickland. This move resulted in one of the biggest upsets recently, as the American dominated Adesanya and claimed the middleweight belt at UFC 293.
Now, Dana White, UFC’s CEO, talks about a possible immediate rematch between Strickland and Adesanya, implying that Du Plessis might have forfeited his right to a title shot. He expressed his bewilderment during an interview on The MMA Hour. “Nobody said anything like that,” Du Plessis stated, evidently confused about why rejecting the fight may cost him a title shot. He further justified, “This is the fight game, people get injured all the time. I just went through one hell of a camp, I just fought three times in seven months.”
Du Plessis also spoke about how he accepted the fight versus Whittaker even when many called it an imprudent decision due to the potential Adesanya fight. “I’m not here to be smart, I’m here to fight. I took that fight without hesitation… I’m injured. What do you want from me? There’s nothing I can do about it.” Du Plessis added. He further criticized the UFC for their planning, arguing about the unreasonable scheduling of a No.1 contender match two months before the next title fight. Regardless of these concerns, Du Plessis finds himself on the peripheral of the middleweight title picture.
Despite these challenges, Du Plessis remains optimistic. “The way I see this is I’m fighting Sean Strickland, I’m beating him, and the roles will be reversed. I’ll be the champion and Izzy will be the challenger.” He believes that his bout versus Jared Cannonier makes more sense compared to potential fights against Khamzat Chimaev or Paulo Costa. He also criticized the idea of an immediate rematch between Adesanya and Strickland. The South African fighter finds the immediate rematch unjustified and emphasizes that Adesanya should earn his spot to fight for the belt once more. Yet, he acknowledges that his fate is not in his hands but in the UFC’s decisions, vowing to ensure everyone realizes he deserves the title shot.