Israel Adesanya is closely watching the upcoming UFC 312 middleweight title fight between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland, expressing admiration for du Plessis’ unconventional fighting style while focusing on his own match against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia.
Israel Adesanya always keeps a keen eye on the middleweight division. One fight that piques his interest is the upcoming UFC 312 main event: Dricus du Plessis versus Sean Strickland.
Adesanya has history with both fighters, having faced them in his past two UFC appearances. This was before he booked his upcoming matchup against Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday. With du Plessis, there’s been some bad blood, but they seemed to bury the hatchet after their bout last August.
Now, Adesanya speaks highly of du Plessis as a fighter and champion. He admires the unorthodox style that du Plessis employs to secure victories.
“The great fighters I think 90 percent or 80 percent follow the rules and 10 percent or 20 percent of the time break the rules,” Adesanya said to MMA Fighting via Stake.com. “Dricus flipped that shit around.”
“10 percent of the time he follows the rules of striking and then other 90 percent he breaks the rules and he’s great,” he continued. “You can’t fault him for that. It’s working for him.”
As Adesanya preps for his Saturday fight, attention shifts to du Plessis vs. Strickland 2, happening exactly one week later.
Their first clash ended with du Plessis winning by split decision after a thrilling back-and-forth. Strickland’s jab was sharp, while du Plessis aimed to inflict maximum damage, leaving Strickland bloodied.
For the rematch, Strickland has issued a bold challenge: keep it standing, no takedowns allowed.
“I’m going to need you to be a f*cking man,” Strickland declared online. He urged du Plessis to avoid wrestling and stick to striking.
Du Plessis dismissed this notion outright, preferring to utilize all his MMA skills rather than engage in a mere boxing match.
Adesanya concurs with du Plessis. “That’s kind of silly,” he commented on Strickland’s demand. “Dricus is good at what he does.”
Despite their previous close encounter, Adesanya favors du Plessis to retain his title in the rematch.
“Look, I think Dricus is probably going to win that fight,” Adesanya predicted. “He’s great at what he does.”
As for his own future rematches against either fighter? Adesanya isn’t looking that far ahead just yet.
He’s relishing the freedom to fight without any looming expectations. His focus remains solely on Imavov until Saturday’s bout concludes.
“An Israel Adesanya 2025 would look like this fight coming up with my hand raised,” he mused. “All I’m focused on right now is getting in there with Imavov.” Afterward? He’ll handle whatever comes next.