Israel Adesanya discusses "longest layoff" ahead of Dricus du Plessis title clash, predicts statement win at UFC 305: "I'm going to smoke this fool"
Israel Adesanya appears confident ahead of his title fight against reigning champion Dricus du Plessis. Adesanya recently addressed his almost year-long hiatus from fighting while predicting a major victory at UFC 305.
The news that Adesanya will be returning to the octagon has excited the entire mixed martial arts community. The Nigerian-born Kiwi will go up against du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 305. The pay-per-view event will take place at the RAC Arena on Aug. 17 in Perth, Australia.
There is a lot of animosity between the two middleweights as they clashed last year over their common African ancestry. The fighters were initially slated to face each other after du Plessis' win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, but the contest was delayed until UFC 305.
After suffering a surprising defeat at UFC 293 against Sean Strickland, Adesanya stepped away from mixed martial arts. Not only did the Nigerian award 'Tarzan' the 185-pound title that night, but he also put up an extremely poor performance. In a recent interview with Stake, the 35-year-old opened up about his lengthy absence, stating:
''This is the longest layoff in my whole fighting career. I kind of got forced into taking a break because my body needed it. Not because of the fights, but the training camps. My mind, body, and spirit needed it, and I’m glad I got the break I needed and reset myself, reaffirm myself.''
Adesanya also predicted the du Plessis fight, saying:
''I’ve been here before, I’ve lost before and I know how things change, so for me, the defeat didn’t shake me. You watch this, in 10 days, I’m going to smoke this fool. I’ve been here before, but I’ll play the game a little differently this time.” [H/t: MMA Mania]
Alexander Volkanovski expects a strong performance from Israel Adesanya
This weekend, Israel Adesanya will challenge Dricus du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 305. Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski recently gave a video analysis of what could happen in this matchup.
Volkanovski claimed that du Plessis is an ''unorthodox'' fighter. The Australian backed Adesanya, describing the South African's fighting technique as ''awkward'', saying:
''I'm expecting a performance from Israel Adesanya, like a proper performance...I just feel like Dricus is very awkward, very unorthodox, he's got awkward pressure, which is very very hard for people to deal with...I think he's [Adesanya] going to be ready to capitalize on that and that's what I mean by getting a finish.''
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (21:24):