Israel Adesanya recently reclaimed the middleweight title in stunning fashion in the main event of UFC 287 when he knocked Alex Pereira out cold in the second round. His victory over ‘Poatan’ has led to questions about who could be next for ‘The Last Stylebender’, as he has beaten every middleweight in the top 5 right now.
Israel Adesanya talks about his future opponents
During Adesanya’s post-fight press conference, he snubbed the probes from several journalists regarding who the Nigerian-born Kiwi would like to face next. However, ‘The Last Stylebender’ did send a cryptic message to a certain middleweight, which he refused to name to avoid giving him ‘clout’.
Israel Adesanya stated that he would love to “drag” the said fighter’s body across South Africa, which could mean that the now-champion was referring to No.6 ranked middleweight Dricus du Plessis, who hails from the rainbow nation.
“F**k I don’t wanna give this n***a no clout, I wanna whoop his a** so bad. I wanna do it in South Africa or Nigeria. But he’s got to do work, show me something. So I can whoop that a** and show you history, I’ll remind you. ‘Cause you’ve gotta choose your words wisely, when you speak on people that have come before, people that paved the way for you… I pray to God he keeps winning, I will gladly drag his carcass across South Africa.”
Adesanya thinks their rivalry has reached its end now that he reclaimed the UFC middleweight title by knocking out Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in their rematch Saturday in the UFC 287 main event.
Adesanya not only shut down the idea of a trilogy bout with Pereira, but also didn’t want to look at what may be ahead. He was solely focused on Pereira and for now will think about enjoying life.
“I’n not thinking of anything like that,” Adesanya said. “That’s the last question. I’ve been a good boy, so now it’s time to be a bad boy in Miami.”
