This is the fight Israel Adesanya wants next – but there is one major problem

Israel Adesanya wants to fight Dricus du Plessis next. Photo: Jasmin Frank – USA TODAY Sports

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya wants to fight No. 6 ranked Dricus Du Plessis next. The pair have been going back-and-forth in the media for a while, and now the champion has decided that he wants to settle things in the cage.

”That’s why he’s my next fight, because I don’t want to fight anyone else. This one pisses me off,” Adesanya recently said in a recent video posted to his YouTube channel.

“I want to do it in South Africa or somewhere in Africa,” Adesanya said. ”You don’t understand: I’m here now. I’m going to fuck this guy up. I’m going to torture this guy.”

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Dricus du Plessis faces Robert Whittaker next

However, the fact that Du Plessis is facing former champion Robert Whittaker on July 8 could make things difficult for the champion.

UFC president Dana White recently confirmed the matchup for UFC 290, and the winner is expected to challenge Adesanya for the middleweight championship at a card targeted for Sydney, Australia later this year.

If Du Plessis loses against the No. 2 ranked Whittaker, who only lost to Adesanya in the past nine years, it could be very hard for the promotion to give Adesanya what he wants.

Dricus Du Plessis made his UFC debut in October 2020, and has five straight wins in the promotion. In his last fight he defeated Derek Brunson via TKO (corner stoppage) at UFC 285 in March.

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