Adesanya Won’t Retire Following The Du Plessis Loss – ‘I’m Not Leaving’
Israel Adesanya says he will not retire after losing to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305.
Izzy was a massive favorite heading into the fight as he sought to recapture his lost belt against Sean Strickland. The build-up was marred by accusations that Du Plessis made it personal after he stated he would be the first African to win a belt, later clarifying that he meant the first residing one. Adesanya, born in Nigeria but left to live in New Zealand, took it personally.
Just when Adesanya looked to have swung the fight in his favour in round three, he got caught with some strong right hands in the fourth, which wobbled him. Du Plessis took advantage of this to get him into a takedown before making Izzy tap. After the fight, the pair appeared to settle their feud.
Adesanya Reacts
Du Plessis praised Adesanya as one of the best, while Izzy recognized that he lost to a better man. It was the first time Adesanya had lost consecutive fights, raising questions about whether he would retire. He admitted that he is not desperate for a rematch but recognized that he will not retire.
“For me, who knows what happens [next]. Again, life is fleeting, who knows what happens. He might never come back, if something happens to him. Any one of us in this room could go tomorrow. So, I try and take each fight, each moment as if it was my last.
“I only took my gloves off because it was tight. He’s got a strong head man, I hit him with some shots. So my hand was a bit, not broken, not even close, but just a little bit swollen. So, that’s why I took the gloves off, but nothing about retiring, no no no. I told you, I’m not…leaving. I’m not…leaving until I wanna leave,” Adesanya said
Du Plessis’ Future
Meanwhile, Du Plessis has set his sights on bigger things. After his win, Alex Pereira called him out, stating he is willing to come down to 185 pounds again. Pereira was the former middleweight champion before losing his title to Adesanya at UFC 287 last year. The Brazilian was knocked out in the seventh round.
The rematch never happened as Alex moved up to light heavyweight. He fought Jan Blachowicz at UFC 295 and stopped him to win the belt. The victory made him a two-weight world champion. Now, Pereira will fight Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 on October 5. Du Plessis is ready to take him on if he gets through that with a win. But he wanted the fight at light heavyweight.
“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185. If he wants to? Great. Perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses. I saw Izzy stiff that man in the (second) round. I felt Izzy’s punching power. Izzy has great timing. He’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.
“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be there in with me – especially not when you’re going to come with the excuse of, ‘I cut too much weight.’…You don’t have to cut the weight to have some sort of excuse. I’ll come up after the Strickland fight. I’ll come up to 205 and we’ll sort it out there,” Du Plessis stated
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
