Dricus du Plessis says Israel Adesanya Fight Made Him Nervous
During an interview with MMA legend Demetrious Johnson, Dricus du Plessis revealed that his first UFC title fight against Sean Strickland was not the bout that made him nervous. It was his first title defense against Israel Adesanya.
“I’ve said it before, the nerves for that fight was something … I would say the most nervous I’ve been for a fight,” du Plessis said. “Even more nervous than fighting for the title itself purely because knowing the pedigree that I’m fighting. You’re fighting a guy that can literally with one mistake put your lights out.
“A lot of guys you fight you know they’re really good, but you can get away with certain things because you can take one or two punches and afford mistakes. With a guy like Izzy, if you shoot at the wrong time, if your guard is down at the wrong time, with his accuracy and his sniping striking style, he can put your lights out. We’ve seen this so many times with him.”
There was a lot of bad blood going into that one, but following du Plessis’ fourth-round submission finish both men buried the hatchet and showed mutual respect.
Du Plessis is hoping to make his second title defense a successful one. He will take on Sean Strickland in a rematch from their UFC 297 title clash. The rematch will headline UFC 312 inside the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on February 8th.
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