Belt first, grudge match second! Dricus Du Plessis puts Israel Adesanya rivalry to side to challenge Sean Strickland for gold

Dricus Du Plessis is the rightful contender for the title after defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.

Belt first, grudge match second! Dricus Du Plessis puts Israel Adesanya rivalry to side to challenge Sean Strickland for gold

Dricus Du Plessis wants a title shot (Image via Imago)

Ariel Helwani recently interviewed Dricus Du Plessis on the MMA Hour. Du Plessis began the conversation by bashing Chael Sonnen. He also indicated his interest in fighting the title more than fighting Israel Adesanya. Dricus Du Plessis made waves in the MMA community after his upset win at UFC 290.

Speaking at MMA Hour to Ariel Helwani, he said, ” The belt is what interests me and after that, we can do the Israel Adesanya fight. Right now, Sean Strickland has the gold. I want to fight Israel Adesanya, but not as bad as I want to fight for the belt. So I’ll make the promise that when I win that belt, he’ll be the first defense. 1oo percent. Du Plessis and Adesanya have an already existing beef. The #2 ranked middleweight also shed light on the bad performance of Adesanya. Moreover, the South African fighter strongly believed in being the best and was unwilling to put that over settling for beef.

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Du Plessis could not make it to UFC 293 due to a foot injury. He suffered the injury at UFC 290 against Robert Whitaker. The South African was a three-to-one underdog in the fight he won via TKO. Sean Strickland received the title fight call solely due to Du Plessis’s injury. Du Plessis believed that, besides himself, Jared Cannonier was the only one who had a valid case for a title shot. The #2 ranked middleweight did not seem to like the idea of Khamzat Chimaev or Paulo Costa getting a title shot.

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Du Plessis upset Robert Whitaker at UFC 290 in his most recent outing. Yair Rodriguez and Alexander Volkanovski headlined UFC 290. Similar to Strickland against Adesanya, the oddsmakers heavily favored Whitaker. However, Du Plessis had other ideas, dominating the Australian in a thrilling fight.

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Chael Sonnen blasted by Dricus Du Plessis on MMA Hour post-UFC 293 victory of Sean Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis at a media appearance
Dricus Du Plessis at a media appearance (via Imago)

Before Conor McGregor became the king of trash talks, Chael Sonnen reigned supreme. The wrestler from Oregon had a successful career in the UFC, where he fought for the title thrice. Twice against Anderson Silva for the middleweight title and once with Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title. After retirement, he has had a successful career in podcasting and commentating.

Chael Sonnen raised an eyebrow while looking at Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290. In his recent YouTube video, Sonnen criticized Du Plessis for not fighting at UFC 293. He clarified that he did not see the South African limping after UFC 290. In his interview at the MMA Hour, Du Plessis bashed Sonnen for the comments. “Stillknocks” clarified that the adrenaline rush made him not limp at UFC 290. He cited Chael Sonnen’s past comments as motivation and clarified any title shot promises after facing Robert Whittaker.

The South African was guaranteed a title shot at UFC 293 by the UFC President, Dana White. But he could not make it due to injury. White had come forth and said that he didn’t like the idea of Du Plessis not fighting at UFC 293. We must wait and see if he will fight Sean Strickland for the title next.

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