UFC 300 was originally planned to feature a main event fight between Israel Adesanya and reigning middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, but the latter and his team declined, possibly due to injuries from a previous fight.
UFC 300 was on the brink of featuring a different main event. In the lead-up to the historic April 13 card, UFC officials were in a frenzy. Their mission? To find the most epic fight to headline the card.
And then, Israel Adesanya got the call.
He was asked to face off against the reigning middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis. The fight had been whispered about for a while, and was slated to be UFC 300’s main event. But, according to Adesanya, du Plessis and his team said no.
Adesanya spilled the beans on Theo Von’s podcast. “They summoned me for [UFC] 300 and I was like ‘yep, let’s roll.’ But their side didn’t want it. They didn’t want it,” he said.
Why the refusal? Adesanya speculated, “They just fought [Sean] Strickland so maybe he had a little bit of niggly injuries and stuff but we’ve all got niggles and what not.”
Bad timing might’ve been the culprit. Du Plessis had just survived a brutal five-round battle with Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January. A quick turnaround for an April fight might’ve been too much.
Interestingly, a similar situation had previously blocked du Plessis from his first title shot. He’d knocked out ex-champion Robert Whittaker in July, but a foot injury stopped him from facing Adesanya two months later. Strickland stepped in, pulled off a huge upset, and became champion.
Adesanya, though, is no stranger to injuries. “I’ve fought injured for the last how many fights, that’s why I took time off just to let my body heal,” he said. “It has healed and I’m sure there will be more injuries, it just happens through training. Like what we do for work, it’s constantly something.”
So, what’s next? Adesanya seems to be the top pick to challenge du Plessis in his first title defense. Both fighters are keen on a showdown in Africa.
Will that location get booked? Who knows. But for now, Adesanya and du Plessis are on a collision course. Just not at UFC 300.