Aljamain Sterling lauds Dricus du Plessis following the latter's explanation of why he didn't take fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 300
Aljamain Sterling has weighed in on Dricus du Plessis' recent comments about not taking the fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 300.
Adesanya recently shared that the UFC offered him the fight against 'Stillknocks' at UFC 300, but the newly crowned champion turned down the offer. Du Plessis made an appearance on Cameron Saaiman's podcast, where he gave the reasoning behind his decision. He shared that he did not want to rush into his next fight until he had fully recovered. The South African said:
"With the conversations of 300, that would have been a massive fight, me and Izzy. It was on the table, 100%. But... why would I go and start a camp once again, injured, if I am the champion? Taking risks is one thing, I have been taking risks, a lot. But why would I rush [that]? I am the champion now. I can fight when I'm ready. I think Izzy misjudges himself as still being a champion, and he's not. You'll fight when you get the opportunity. You don't dictate when I fight."
Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments from the 24:30 mark below:
Sterling took notice of the middleweight champion's statement and took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to du Plessis' decision. 'Funk Master' commended 'Stillknocks' for recognizing that he needed more time to time to heal before returning to action. Sterling wrote:
"Good on DDP for recognizing that it’s hard enough to fight and even harder to fight when not closer to your best to start a camp."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's tweet below:
What's next for Aljamain Sterling in the UFC?
Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will soon be seen inside the UFC octagon again. 'Funk Master' will make his featherweight debut in the promotion and lock horns against Calvin Kattar at UFC 300. The event will be held on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sterling's last fight came in August 2023, when he came up short against Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 292. The night did not go well for the 34-year-old as he suffered a knockout loss in the second round of the fight. Now, Sterling will be moving up a weight class to featherweight and will be making his 145 pound debut at UFC 300 against a seasoned contender in the form of Calvin Kattar.