Israel Adesanya was all set to light up the main event at UFC 300. He was ready to throw down against Dricus Du Plessis. But, plot twist, the middleweight champ backed out. Said nope, not happening.
Now, picture this. The UFC’s bigwigs were scrambling. They needed something epic for UFC 300, happening at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13. They thought they had it with Adesanya vs. Du Plessis. But when that fell through, Alex Pereira stepped up. He’s defending his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill instead.
Adesanya spilled the beans on the “This Past Weekend” podcast with Theo Von. He was like, “They called me up for UFC 300, and I was game.” But then, crickets from Du Plessis’ camp. Apparently, Du Plessis was nursing some injuries from his scrap with Sean Strickland at UFC 297. Adesanya’s take? We’ve all got our aches and pains.
Here’s a kicker. Adesanya and Du Plessis were supposed to duke it out last year too. But Du Plessis, fresh off a knockout win over Robert Whittaker, needed a breather. Enter Strickland, who shook up the world with a massive upset.
Adesanya’s no stranger to fighting hurt. He’s been doing it for ages. Took a break to mend, but he knows injuries are just part of the game. “It’s what we sign up for,” he says. Just another day at the office for these warriors.