It’s safe to say that there is no love lost between Israel Adesanya and the two fighters who will compete for the middleweight world title this Saturday night (January 20).
Returning to the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada, UFC 297 will emanate from Scotiabank Arena and feature a can’t-miss clash as reigning and defending 185-pound king Sean Strickland puts his title on the line for the first time against well-rounded knockout artist Dricus Du Plessis.
Strickland shocked fight fans in September, earning a decisive unanimous decision victory over two-time titleholder Israel Adeanya to claim his inaugural world championship.
Speaking about the impending middleweight headliner via his YouTube channel, Adesanya briefly spoke about the heated rivalry between Strickland and Du Plessis that boiled over just before the new year.
“I didn’t watch it, but I heard Sean got triggered,” Adesanya said when asked if he had watched last month’s intense press conference with Strickland and Du Plessis. “I saw the brawl [at UFC 296] and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s out of character,’ but then again, [Strickland] can dish it, but can’t take it. We all have our own code and we all do whatever we have to do to win. Some people do anything to win, even if it’s fabricating lies, taking things out of context, going after loved ones. Some people take steroids to win.”
UFC fighters Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis brawl pic.twitter.com/adEhSGWJEs
— Only Wild Clips (@OnlyWildClips) December 17, 2023
‘The Last Stylebender’ made it clear that, like Sean Strickland, he has little respect for the man Dricus Du Plessis becomes when the South African contender is placed in front of a camera.
“It’s an interesting clash of personalities,” Adesanya added. “Dricus is fake. I’ll put it this way, he’s fake in camera. He’s a real person. A real n****a, but he’s fake when the cameras come on, but when you meet him in person, he’s real.”
Israel Adesanya Predicts Strickland vs. DDP Will End with a Submission
Offering his breakdown of each fighter’s skills, Adesanya believes ‘Stillknocks’ will hold a decided advantage in the grappling department, but could find himself fighting off his back foot if Strickland can get his jab going early.
“Dricus is going to try and wrestle him,” Adesanya said. “He’ll stand up in the beginning, of course. Do his offbeat rhythm and all that kind of stuff, but the problem is he might get jabbed by Sean in the first round and then have to really switch to the grappling because Sean’s jab is underrated. I never underestimated it, but it’s underrated and I figured it out. Didn’t take me long to figure it out after the fight.
“In the fight, I had some other sh*t going on and I wasn’t able to figure it out. I was worried about some other stuff subconsciously to do with me. Not with him, but Dricus is weird. You see the way he strikes. It’s so ugly, but it’s effective.”
He continued, “When I say that, I mean that in a good way. He’s weird with the way he moves. He’s offbeat. The way he gathers his feet, he sneaks things in.”
As for how he sees things playing out, Adesanya sees DDP getting the win, and the middleweight world title, inside the distance.
“I’m gonna go with Dricus. Does it go the distance? I’m gonna say no,” he predicted. “Not that I don’t respect Sean or his skills. The guy beat me so, of course, I respect his skills.”
Israel Adesanya added that if Du Plessis does get the finish, he believes it will be by way of submission.
Watch the full video below:
