Israel Adesanya Receives Praise From Unlikely Foe

Highlights

• Israel Adesanya is taking a break from fighting after his loss to Sean Strickland, earning praise from his rival Dricus Du Plessis.
• Du Plessis acknowledges that Adesanya was an active champion who fought everyone, but warns that staying away until 2027 could be detrimental.
• The feud between Du Plessis and Adesanya stemmed from claims of nationality, with Du Plessis asserting himself as the "true first African champion."

Israel Adesanya is taking some time away from fighting and has received praise from his nemesis. The former two-time Middleweight champion suffered his third career in the MMA against underdog Sean Strickland by unanimous decision at UFC 293 in September 2023. While many expected a rematch to be scheduled, Adesanya revealed that he is taking time off with no schedule to return.

Before Adesanya fought Strickland, he was expected to fight top-ranked contender, Dricus Du Plessis, who pulled out with a foot injury. Du Plessis will now challenge Strickland at UFC 297 on Jan. 20, 2024, and surprisingly has high praise for Adesanya despite their heated feud.

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Dricus Du Plessis Praises Israel Adesanya’s Title Reign

The South African Contender Doesn’t Think Israel Should Stay Away For Too Long

During an appearance on the James Lynch podcast, Du Plessis was asked what he thinks about the Nigerian-New Zealander taking time away from the sport.

“The man was active. That’s one thing we can say about Israel as a champion,” Du Plessis said, continuing, “He showed up. He didn’t shy away from fights. He fought everybody, some people twice. He was very active as a champion.

“I think he deserves some time away from the sport. He said 2027. If he comes back in 2027, he’s gonna get hurt. He shouldn’t do that, but taking some time off, maybe taking a year off, that would be good for him. I think he earned that. I think as one of the best to ever do it in the Middleweight division he deserves to take some time off and right now, as a person, I do not like Adesanya for obvious reasons, he continued. "As a fighter, as a martial artist to another martial artist, a guy that I know also embodies the martial artist way is he needs to stay strong right now. He can’t lose it. You can’t lose it outside of the ring.”

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Du Plessis And Adesayna Feud Stems From Nationality Claims

Dricus Question Whether Adesanya Is Truly An African Champion

Du Plessis has previously expressed his aspiration to embody the concept of the "true first African champion." However, this assertion could be debated, considering that Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou were all born in Africa before pursuing opportunities elsewhere to advance their careers.

The South African argued that he could stake the claim because he resides in Africa and trains in the continent. However, Adesanya took offense to the notion that he was not a real African champion which offset their feud. Following Du Plessis's victory over Robert Whitaker, Adesanya stepped into the octagon and unleashed a profanity-laced rant at the South African fighter. The pair will likely meet in the octagon sometime in the future, whenever Adesanya returns to action.