Israel Adesanya Blasts Dricus Du Plessis, Offers Title Shot to Strickland

• Israel Adesanya has accused Dricus Du Plessis of bailing out of their forthcoming UFC bout
• Adesanya and Du Plessis were purported to face off in UFC 293 in Sydney
• Du Plessis rose to number one challenger to Adesanya’s belt after his recent win

Israel Adesanya is pissed off at Dricus Du Plessis after it emerged their highly-anticipated UFC Middleweight title defence bout might not see the light of day as the South African appeared to be injured.

The Nigerian UFC champion was supposed to face off against Du Plessis after the South African rose up to be in position for a title shot after stopping former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.

According to MMA Junkie, Adesanya released an expletive-filled rant directed towards Du Plessis as Stylebender believed his challenger will not make the date of the fight.

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The fight between Adesanya and Du Plessis was rumoured to take place at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia; however, it was never officially announced.

Adesanya has reclaimed the UFC middleweight title from Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 287 at the FTX Arena in Miami, after knocking out his opponents in April.

Adesanya offers challenge to Strickland

Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya has offered a title shot to Sean Strickland because number one ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis will not be ready for the UFC 293, MMA Mania reports.

Adesanya was due to fight South Africa’s Du Plessis in September as his mandatory challenger for the UFC Middleweight belt, but that spot has now been offered to Strickland.

The Nigerian UFC Champions reveals he plans to defend his title in the Octagon in September and if Du Plessis is not available, he will fight the next available contender in Strickland.

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Adesanya to antagonise Du Plessis

Earlier, Sports Brief reported the tension between Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis continues to rise.

The Nigerian-born fighter and the South African superstar are set to collide at UFC 293, and things are heating up between the two.

The animosity between the superstars started when du Plessis said he wanted to be the first real African champ who was trained, born, and bred on the continent.