Dricus du Plessis's coach discusses the Israel Adesanya fight: "Beat him on the feet"
Israel Adesanya is set to make his highly-anticipated return to the octagon at UFC 305 next month as he challenges Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title in the card's headlining bout. Morne Visser, who coaches 'Still Knocks' at CIT Performance Institute, recently shared that the middleweight champion has no plans to take the fight to the ground.
Speaking on Extreme Fighting Championship's EFC Engaged, the mixed martial arts trainer stated:
"We'll fight Izzy wherever it is that Izzy wants to take it. We are 100% where we need to be. They think that Dricus is going to shoot and take him down. No way. We want to beat him on the feet."
Check out Morne Visser's comments about Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya below (starting at the 8:18 mark):
Du Plessis has attempted at least one takedown in six of his seven bouts in the UFC. His promotional debut in October 2020 is the lone exception, as he defeated Markus Perez via first-round knockout at UFC Fight Night 179.
He attempted 11 takedowns, six of which he landed, en route to defeating Sean Strickland to capture the middleweight title at UFC 297 in January. It remains to be seen if 'Still Knocks' will keep his upcoming clash with Adesanya, who is widely considered one of the top strikers in the UFC, on the feet.
Israel Adesanya requests post-fight ice baths from UFC
Israel Adesanya will have spent nearly a year away from the octagon when he faces Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305. The two-time middleweight champion recently requested that the UFC provide fighters with post-fight ice baths going forward. 'The Last Stylebender' took to X, tweeting:
"After a fight we go out back to have doctors check on us, UFC staff make sure we get from B to C to D. For #UFC305 and every card moving forward can we have ice baths out back? Would be appreciated by all fighters, trust!"
Check out Israel Adesanya's tweet requesting post-fight ice baths below:
It is unclear if the UFC will meet Adesanya's request, however, his fellow fighters would likely be thankful if they did. The No.2-ranked middleweight will have the opportunity to make history if he can defeat Du Plessis next month.
He would become just the second fighter in UFC history - joining Randy Couture, who accomplished the feat at heavyweight - to capture a title in the same division three times.