UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis declined a fight with Israel Adesanya at UFC 300 due to a foot injury, but has proposed a fight on August 17 at UFC 305.
Dricus du Plessis isn’t rushing to defend his title. He’s gonna do it when he’s ready, and not a moment sooner. He earned the UFC middleweight championship in a grueling split decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297. The aftermath? A body too battered to jump back into training, let alone another fight, in the months that followed.
This meant a big “no” to a fight with Israel Adesanya, a long-standing rival. That fight would’ve been the main event at UFC 300 this Saturday. Adesanya claimed he was “summoned” to fight du Plessis. But du Plessis has a different story.
“I was in a moon boot,” he said on the Shadow Banned podcast. A broken foot had him sidelined, unable to train. “So now you want me to have a six-week camp to fight at UFC 300. Against one of the best people to ever do it. I don’t think people understand what it would mean to fight at 300, be the main event. That’s life-changing s***.”
Money wasn’t the issue. The offer was more than fair. But for du Plessis, it’s about legacy. He’s taken risks before, fought injured, and even had three fights in seven months. But once you have the title, he says, you don’t have to take those risks anymore. It’s the contender’s opportunity, not his. So, he declined the fight. It wasn’t easy, but he had to pass on UFC 300.
“But Izzy saying he’s been summoned, no. You are summoned when I say you’re summoned,” he added.
Du Plessis has since suggested a fight with Adesanya on Aug. 17 at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. Ever since their face-off inside the octagon following du Plessis’ win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023, a match between the two has been inevitable.
Adesanya was supposed to defend the middleweight title against du Plessis at UFC 293. But injuries got in the way again. Instead, Adesanya lost his title to Strickland in a surprise upset.
This led to a face-off between Strickland and du Plessis in Toronto this past January. The winner would likely get a shot at UFC 300. But after barely beating Strickland, du Plessis knew he couldn’t make the April 13 date.
“I knew going into this fight, UFC 300 is probably going to be a possibility. It was discussed, but was never official,” Du Plessis said. “… If you look at that [Strickland] fight, I don’t think people realize what that feels like. It’s easy to sit there and say, ‘He walked out of the cage.’ Yes, because I don’t know if you know what adrenaline is and I’m tough and you’re not. I mean, you saw the next morning, I was in a wheelchair.”
Du Plessis made a name for himself on his climb up the ranks, taking on some of the UFC middleweight division’s top contenders. He knocked off Whittaker, Derek Brunson, Darren Till, Brad Tavares, and others on his way to the title shot.
But that fast-paced start to his career took a toll. Now that he’s the one being chased, he’s taking his time when it comes to signing his next bout agreement.
“I would have been in camp for two weeks,” Du Plessis said. “I’ve only started training again and being able to move on my foot for the last week. That doesn’t make sense. So yeah, I declined 300 at the end of the day, and it was with a heavy heart. It wasn’t easy to decline a fight like that and it wasn’t easy to decline a payday like that or the legacy that in itself would have been. That’s the fight game.”