BREAKING: Israel Adesanya to potentially face Sean Strickland at UFC 293 with Dricus Du Plessis out 

Fans will have to wait for longer to witness the highly anticipated middleweight grudge match between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis. 

According to reports, the South African will not sign the contract to face Adesanya at UFC 293 in September in Sydney, Australia. The Nigerian-born Kiwi has named Sean Strickland as his first choice for a replacement opponent. 

Adesanya posted a video on his socials, slamming Du Plessis for backing out and calling on ‘Tarzan’ to do ‘The Man Dance’ with him in September. Claiming that ‘Stillknocks’ is backing out due to a foot issue, he said:

“I don’t even know how to start this, but ‘Dricus du P****,’ you f****** b****… Your foot’s sore… I’m fighting in Sydney. I don’t give a f*** who… You’re out. Strickland, you’re in, let’s do the man dance, show you how to really dance.”

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani later confirmed that Dricus Du Plessis might not be able to compete at UFC 293 with such a short turnaround. He tweeted:

“It’s not quite official but pretty close at this point that Dricus Du Plessis will not be able to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney. He was banged up going into the Robert Whittaker fight, and that turnaround is just too soon, I’m told. If that ends up being the case, and Israel Adesanya stays on the card, which is his desire, it’ll be Adesanya x Sean Strickland for the middleweight title on 9/9.”  

Adesanya and Du Plessis shared a racially charged face-off in the aftermath of UFC 290, where the South African secured a second-round knockout over Robert Whittaker. They have been exchanging verbal shots for months following Du Plessis’ comments about Adesanya’s African heritage. 

Sean Strickland’s coach claims ‘Tarzan’ prepared to fight Israel Adesanya if Dricus Du Plessis fight falls through 

It seems Sean Strickland keeping himself ready for a potential middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. 

In the aftermath of his second-round TKO win over Abus Magomedov at UFC on ESPN 48, Strickland voiced his eagerness to fight Adesanya for the 185-pound title. However, Dricus Du Plessis cemented his title shot against the Nigerian-born Kiwi with a statement win at UFC 290. 

With the Du Plessis vs. Adesanya fight looking unlikely now, Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick recently claimed that his fighter is ready for a backup role. In an interview with MMA Junkie, he said:

“I think you have to [prepare for it]. That’s the thing with Sean. My main concern is not him being prepared. Just making sure his weight is within striking distance to make that championship, 185-pound limit… He does need to stay ready because that phone might ring at any moment… I want to be ready to go and get this taken care of.”