All images: UFC
Dricus Du Plessis (South Africa) outpointed Sean Strickland (United States) to claim the UFC Middleweight title in a split-decision win at UFC 297 at the Scotiabank Arena, Toronto on Jan 20. Du Plessis became South Africa’s first world champion in the promotion.
In his post-fight interview, Du Plessis called out former UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (New Zealand). “There was another guy who tried to take my shine. He lost his shine, now I have your shine. He didn’t get into the cage tonight, but Israel Adesanya, get your a** back in the cage so we can settle the score,” he said.
In an Instagram story, Adesanya responded to the new champion’s call out by saying, “Never stole shine. Never lost mine!!” In another post, Adesanya said, “This arc in my story was written long ago. Our paths are destined to cross again. Stay tuned for the next episode, thanks for watching. We Write History.”
Adesanya has taken a break from fighting after he lost the Middleweight belt to Strickland at UFC 293 in Sept last year. Du Plessis and Adesanya were supposed to face each other at UFC 293 but the South African suffered an injury and Strickland stepped in for the title shot. Du Plessis said he is ready for UFC 300 in April but it is not yet known if Adesanya would be eager to fight at that time.