Israel Adesanya: Dricus Du Plessis grudge match will be 'one of the most important fights in sporting history'

Israel Adesanya won’t get an opportunity to face Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 293 in Sydney, but he sees a silver lining.

The initial plan was to have Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defend his middleweight title against Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at Qudos Bank Arena on Sept. 9. The South African challenger wasn’t healthy enough to make the date, however, and instead Sean Strickland slid in to the headlining spot.

Adesanya made no secret about his frustrations that the grudge match didn’t happen. However, he’s moved on and is now able to see a bigger picture. He’s by no means going to sit on his hands and wait for Du Plessis’ perfect scenario, as the champion said he “calls the shots,” but Adesanya wants the fight to happen, and thinks it’ll be monumental for not only MMA – but the sporting world as a whole.

“We’ll see if he shows up,” Adesanya told MMA Junkie in an interview facilitated by his partners at Stake.com. “But we’ll see how I feel. I’ll see how I feel. I do want that fight. That will be one of the most important fights in sporting history.”

Adesanya is alluding to the notion of a potential fight with Du Plessis happening in Africa. The UFC has expressed its plan to break new ground and host an event on the continent at some point, and perhaps the heated grudge match between Nigeria-born Adesanya and South Africa-born Du Plessis could be the fight to bring the octagon there.

The underlying genesis of the issue between Adesanya and Du Plessis stems from African heritage, as well, so a fight in that region would only up the intensity.

Adesanya was born in Nigeria in Africa, but lives and trains in New Zealand. Du Plessis was born in South Africa and has lived there his whole life. That fact is what has caused tension between the two.

That boiled over at UFC 290 in July, when the UFC brought Adesanya into the cage for a faceoff with Du Plessis. Among the trash talk from Adesanya was around a dozen uses of the N-word directed at Du Plessis, apparently to mock him for his past comments about being African.

It’s all headed to a polarizing pre-fight build and showdown in the octagon, but Adesanya thinks the entire story makes it a meaningful matchup beyond the scope of just MMA.

“I feel that would be one of the most important fights in sporting history – I mean that when I say history,” Adesanya said. “I’ll see how I feel. Because time keeps on ticking. Time waits for no man.”