Dricus Du Plessis may have a feud with Israel Adesanya, but his focus always has been and remains winning UFC gold – no matter who has it. The shocking main event result at UFC 293 doesn’t change that.
Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) was originally tapped to challenge Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) for the middleweight title in Saturday’s headliner at Qudos Bank Arena. A foot injury prevented him from making the date, and that gave Sean Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) the opportunity to step in. He made the most of the chance, scoring a stunning unanimous decision win to claim the strap and shake up the weight class.
A showdown between Du Plessis and Adesanya for the title would’ve been big business for everyone, but matchup has been squandered – for now. Du Plessis admits he didn’t predict a Strickland victory, but he said the outcome doesn’t change his goal (via X):
