Israel Adesanya foresees Khamzat Chimaev taking Dricus du Plessis’ spot after South African’s ‘foot’s a balloon’ claims

Israel Adesanya made some interesting comments and felt Khamzat Chimaev deserves a shot at the title.

Israel Adesanya foresees Khamzat Chimaev taking Dricus du Plessis’ spot after South African’s ‘foot’s a balloon’ claims

Israel Adesanya believes Khamzat Chimaev deserves the title shot rather than Dricus Du Plessis

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya wants to fight Chechen superstar Khamzat Chimaev. Adesanya is set to defend his title at UFC 293 against Sean Strickland, but he has started to plan for the future. He finds Chimaev to be the only sensible option for his potential 12th title fight in the UFC. Adesanya and Chimaev have also called each other out in the past.

Adesanya gave an interview surrounding his upcoming title fight on his “FREESTYLEBENDER” YouTube channel. He was asked if he believes that Dricus Du Plessis has lost the title shot and that Chimaev deserves it more. Adesanya replied, “Definitely, I wanna fight Dricus but he has to know he’s not calling the shots here, I am.”

YouTube video

Adesanya’s coach, Eugene Bareman, also commented on Du Plessis pulling out of the fight. He felt that the South African was too lazy and did not take the title shot seriously. Bareman believes that fighters should take their fights more seriously and embrace challenges that come their way. This mindset of Bareman has helped his fighters achieve what they have today.

After their altercation at UFC 290, the fight between Adesanya and Du Plessis was shaping up to be a grudge match. Du Plessis’ dominant victory over Robert Whittaker secured him a title shot, as Whittaker was the middleweight division’s No.1 contender. The fight had been highly anticipated by fans, and its cancellation disappointed many of them as well.

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Israel Adesanya promises to break Sean Strickland’s jaw if he engages in trash-talk

Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland
Israel Adesanya will break Sean Strickland’s jaw if he engages in trash talk (Image Courtesy- CBS Sports, MMA Fighting)

Adesanya is known for his trash-talking ability before and during fights. He uses this to get into his opponent’s mind and weaken their confidence. His next title defense against Sean Strickland promises a very entertaining press conference as the two will go back and forth. Adesanya promises an exciting press conference but will not sustain any trash talk during the fight.

The two also went back and forth at the UFC 276 press conference, which was nothing less than hilarious. Adesanya warned Strickland on his YouTube channel by saying, “Most people are excited about the press conference because that’s his spot to shine, I guess[…]If he’s talking to me, he’s going to get his jaw broken because when you’re talking, you’re not focused on the task at hand.”

The fight between Adesanya and Strickland was unexpected by the fans. Fans love a good press conference and will be looking forward to the one in Sydney. The fight between the two fighters will thrilling as well as entertaining.

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