The UFC middleweight division’s best aren’t all too fond of each other.
“Order restored,” shouted veteran play-by-play commentator Jon Anik as Israel Adesanya knocked out Alex Pereira to reclaim the middleweight title in their MMA rematch at UFC 287 in April. Unfortunately for “The Last Stylebender,” and the UFC’s security team, that order was short-lived.
Adesanya’s second run as the divisional title holder went without a title defense unlike his first, which saw him secure five total. At UFC 293 in September, Adesanya was met with the fearless American Sean Strickland, who walked the then-champion down for five straight rounds en route to a unanimous decision upset win. Strickland’s first title defense will come against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 next month, a man whom Adesanya already began building a rivalry with before his loss to Strickland. The pair of current rivals’ bad blood boiled over early during UFC 296 fight week this past Friday and Saturday when things got heated at the seasonal press conference before Strickland attacked Du Plessis in the crowd at UFC 296. Having confronted Du Plessis in the octagon after his last win, Adesanya thought this altercation was a notch above.
“I mean, at least he didn’t call him a n****,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “Fully respectable champions and title challengers. That’s what they did. ‘Oh, Israel is so embarrassing as a champion. Goes in the cage, meh, meh, meh.’ Then this is what they do. They sucker punch them. He actually did. He jumped over the chair, sucker punched him and they had a little scrap.
“I liked it. I like a s*** show. Don’t we all? We all see a car crash, we won’t look away.”
Adesanya was originally expected to collide with Du Plessis rather than Strickland at UFC 293. Du Plessis instead needed more time to heal after a lingering foot injury he fought through against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July. The South African won the bout via an impressive second-round TKO that extended his winning streak to eight (six in UFC).
As for his immediate fighting future, Adesanya is still taking time to himself and recovering from some lingering injuries he’s accrued over his years of high activity in MMA. He remains interested in the happenings of the sport, however, and was pleased to see another heated rivalry conclude with a Colby Covington loss at UFC 296. Welterweight champion Leon Edwards successfully picked up his second straight defense as champion when he defeated Covington via a unanimous decision in the main event.
“Beautiful display of striking from Leon, and grappling, yeah, but I’m a fan of the — I was watching the plays. I was printing the movements,” Adesanya said. “Like, the stance switches, the positions, the pressure, the pullbacks, the distance. Colby had nothing for him in the standup.”
Recap. UFC 296: 8 biggest takeaways from UFC’s roller-coaster year-end pay-per-view
Bully. Belal Muhammad trashes Leon Edwards, Colby Covington after UFC 296: ‘Honestly, it was a joke to the division’
Delusion. Colby Covington rates UFC 296 performance, blames Leon Edwards loss on judges’ bias
Heat. Dricus Du Plessis gives side of UFC 296 scrap with Sean Strickland: ‘I don’t care about him being triggered’
Fallout. ‘Colby, you suck‘: Fighters react to Leon Edwards’ UFC 296 win over Colby Covington
Critique. ‘Paddy fights like a sausage‘: Fighters react to Paddy Pimblett’s decision over Tony Ferguson at UFC 296
Injury. Darren Elkins undergoes surgery after breaking leg in ‘freak accident’
Restraint. Khalil Rountree Jr. explains decision not to follow up knockout punch of Anthony Smith at UFC Vegas 83
Looks. Paddy Pimblett explains chopping signature haircut, why he’s not fighting at UFC 300
Rivalry. Leon Edwards: I expected more from ‘coward’ Colby Covington at UFC 296
Finale. Dana White on Tony Ferguson after seventh straight loss at UFC 296: ‘I would love to see him retire’
Whoops. Dana White blames himself for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis brawl at UFC 296: ‘This assh***’ sat them next to each other’
$$$. UFC 296 bonuses: Josh Emmett earns $50,000 for ‘Knockout of the Year’ contender
UFC 296 Post-Fight Show.
On To the Next One.
UFC 296 Post-Fight Presser.
Karate Combat 43 Post-Fight.
RIZIN Confessions 137.
Certified Stars: OAM.
Full fights.
Rapid Rounds: Cyborg vs. Coenen 2.
Doctor on Mitchell’s KO.
Volk and Craig.
Champ camp.
Arnold fight camp.
Vegas was sick.
The news is unfortunate. i did everything possible to stay in the fight but when i went to the hospital the doctors deemed me unfit to compete due to the flu. I’ll be back early next year to put on a banger.
— Randy Brown (@TouchNgo_) December 15, 2023
Wild times.
If you aren’t willing to go to far you will never go far enough.
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) December 15, 2023
As he does.
Posters.
Nasty.
Just goofin’.
Next?
Ouff.
Sorry to the fans asking to take pictures while we were stuck outside. Just a bit annoyed that we found out our tickets were pulled, after arriving to the arena. #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/d5VY10YmGG
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 17, 2023
What a meeting.
Before things went south.
Car crash.
The fight outside the cage.
Now I understand why you have a 33% finish rate, you hit like a girl, also 20 January the security won’t be there to save your life when I’m on top. #rentfree
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) December 17, 2023
I go hard on everyone I know this, izzy mouth feeding his dog, Dricus kissing his coach and grabbing his cup. Omally talking about sharing his wife in a podcast.
You’re a man, on a world stage doing this in public
And what do you pick?
“You got abused as a kid ha”
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) December 17, 2023
I don’t like @SStricklandMMA trash talks but DDP call him to fight right there . Sean polite asked us to move before he jumped .
— Bruna Burns (@brunaburnsbjj) December 17, 2023
Lol.
Questions.
So MVP gets signed to UFC now everyone is excited to see him but when he was in Bellator he was a bum what changed???
— Juan Archuleta (@jarchmma) December 17, 2023
Champ.
Legends.
My favorite part about going to a UFC event is always meeting the different legends who have inspired me and made the sport what it is today. pic.twitter.com/pI2Ep6cpnm
— Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) December 17, 2023
Tease.
Vicious.
Puppy love.
Scoop.
Holiday season.
Thug Nasty.
Islam.
Fight couples.
Yuki Motoya (34-11) vs. Vince Morales (13-7); RIZIN 45, Dec. 31
Devin Clark (14-8) vs. Marcin Prachnio (16-7); UFC Vegas 86, Feb. 10
Kevin Holland (25-10) vs. Michael Page (21-2); UFC 299, March 9
Gilbert Burns (22-6) vs. Jack Della Maddalena (16-2); UFC 299, March 9
Petr Yan (16-5) vs. Song Yadong (21-7-1); UFC 299, March 9
Geoff Neal (15-5) vs. Ian Machado Garry (13-0); UFC 299, March 9
The final UFC event of the year went out about as appropriately as we could have anticipated. A lot to learn from, little that will actually change.
Thanks for reading!
Last Week’s Results:
Friday: 72% of 399 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Should the UFC rebook Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry?”
Thursday: 54% of 465 total votes answered “Tony Ferguson” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Paddy Pimblett defeated Ferguson via unanimous decision at UFC 296.
Wednesday: 43% of 527 total votes answered “Leon Edwards and Alexandre Pantoja” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Edwards and Pantoja both defeated Colby Covington and Brandon Royval via unanimous decisions in the UFC 296 main and co-main events.
Tuesday: 51% of 494 total votes answered “Vicente Luque” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Luque vs. Garry was canceled after Garry fell ill during fight week.
Monday: 63% of 612 total votes answered “Justin Gaethje” when asked, “Who should challenge Islam Makhachev next?”
Today’s exit poll:
Poll
Who came out better after this past weekend?
-
0%
Sean Strickland
(0 votes)
-
0%
Dricus Du Plessis
(0 votes)
0 votes total
Vote Now
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This story originally appeared on MMA fighting