Dricus Du Plessis has responded to Israel Adesanya’s recent prediction regarding the outcome of his upcoming fight against Sean Strickland at UFC 297, labeling Adesanya as ‘irrelevant’ at the moment.
Adesanya, the former middleweight champion with a record of 24-3 in MMA, expressed his belief in Du Plessis as the victor during a segment on his YouTube channel. He stated, “I’m going to go with Dricus Du Plessis. Does it go the distance? I’m going to say no. Not that I don’t respect Sean or his skills. The guy beat me, so of course, I respect his skills. … I say sub. He’ll submit him.”
The much-anticipated UFC 297 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 20th, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main event will feature Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA) facing off against Dricus Du Plessis (20-2 MMA) in a middleweight bout.
Reacting to Adesanya’s prediction at the pre-fight press conference on Thursday, Du Plessis dismissed the former champion, stating, “Israel Adesanya is irrelevant right now. That man went on holiday and let him stay there.”
Sean Strickland, who was also aware of Adesanya’s prediction, didn’t hold back in expressing his disdain for Adesanya. He retorted, “Listen: Izzy – the f*cking guy, the f*cking cringelord, the pup play himself – f*ck Izzy. I could have taken Izzy down and beat his ass on the ground, but I chose to stand with him like a man. What did he do the whole fight? Run away like a b*tch. Izzy, shut your f*cking mouth.”
Notably, Strickland defeated Adesanya, known as ‘The Last Stylebender,’ last September at UFC 293 to claim the middleweight title. Despite Adesanya’s prediction, both Du Plessis and Strickland seem unfazed by the former champion’s opinions, with Du Plessis dismissing him as ‘irrelevant.’
As the UFC 297 event approaches, the question remains: Do you agree with Dricus Du Plessis that Israel Adesanya is currently ‘irrelevant’? And who will you be picking for the win? Share your thoughts in the comment section of PENN Nation!
