After Saturday night’s submission loss to Dricus Du Plessis (DDP), the question remains what is next for Israel Adesanya.
The former champion issued a statement on X (Twitter) congratulating DDP in his victory.
Furthermore, after losing three of his last four fights the ‘Last Stylebender’ has a tough road ahead of him.
Israel Adesanya Congratulates Dricus du Plessis on His Victory
After his submission defeat to the South African Israel Adesanya took to X to congratulate the champion. The former champion wrote; “I’m happy I got to fight again, appreciate all the energy from yous. “
“Congrats @dricusduplessis, thank you for your honest words and speaking your truth. No matter what, Africa won tonight! DDP, you have the torch…light the fire and inspire.”
Adesanya went on to say; “GG DDP. GG.”
The ‘Last Stylebender’ broke the fight down in the post-fight press conference and said; ““For me, I have to watch it again because I don’t think I was rocked. I think I slipped and I was like, ‘what the f*ck was that?’ and then he was trying to catch me as I was exiting.”
“I can’t remember how he took me down because everything in me is always a blur. It’s still fresh, it just happened 20, 30 minutes ago.”
“I tried to fight the top hand, and I don’t know what mistake I made because I tried to turn into him, but then he got on my back because I was using the fence maybe?”
“He switched to a Gable grip and then I wasn’t able to separate the hands like I wanted to. I have to watch it properly to really see what happened, but I felt great. He didn’t really surprise me because I knew he was tough.”
What Is Next for Adesanya?
Consequently after Saturday’s performance many fans have been asking what is next for the New Zealander. Israel Adesanya was once the best middleweight in the world but has now lost three of this last four fights. The ‘Last Stylebender’ lost to Sean Strickland last year and a loss to DDP in quick successive has seen the champion lose control of a division he was so dominant of.
In order to get back into the title picture at middleweight Israel Adesanya has a tough job on his hands. There isn’t a shortage of opponents though many middleweights would love the chance to get one over the former champ.
Facing the winner of Khamzat Chimeav and Robert Whittaker would be an interesting challenge for Adesanya. On one hand, beating an undefeated prospect in Chimeav will almost undoubtedly fast track Israel Adesanya bid to another title opportunity. Whilst defeating Whittaker again will show the silence the critics, given how ruthless and explosive Whittaker has been in the division.
The native New Zealander also has the chance to avenge his loss to Sean Strickland. The American produced arguably the biggest shock in the UFC by beating Israel Adesanya last year when he was a huge underdog. Given how dominant Sean Strickland was their previous fight a rematch could be in the works to decide who deserves the next title shot at Dricus Du Plessis. Furthermore, it gives Adesanya the avenge the loss that cost him to lose his middleweight title.
What do you think Adesanya should do next? Comment below
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
