Israel Adesanya shares where he wants to fight Dricus du Plessis

Israel Adesanya regained the middleweight title in style after knocking Alex Pereira out cold in the main event of UFC 287.

'The Last Stylebender' refused to call anyone out following his win, something the champion has often done in the past. However, Adesanya did mention his desire to fight a "certain" unnamed middleweight fighter.

It has become clear that 'The Last Stylebender' has Dricus du Plessis in his sights, and he recently revealed that he spoke to UFC president Dana White about possibly hosting a fight between the pair in South Africa.

Du Plessis hails from the Rainbow Nation, and following his comments about the UFC's former Africa champions, it appears that Israel Adesanya wants to beat him in front of home fans.

During the first episode of YOUNG MAN RAMBLE, hosted by Adesanya and his brother David, 'The Last Stylebender' said this:

"I tried to do it in South Africa, but apparently that might not work. I told Dana [White], 'You guys beat Covid before any big sporting league got on the field or court. You can do anything.' I still believe they can, I want to do it in South Africa or somewhere in Africa. But [Dricus du Plessis] thinks that they're gonna have his back. But it's only the product of him that's gonna have his back."

Watch the video below from 1:25:00:

Israel Adesanya pens a heartfelt letter to Alex Pereira following UFC 287

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira share one of the most incredible rivalries across combat sports. The pair have met twice in the kickboxing ring and twice in the hallowed UFC octagon, with 'Poatan' currently holding a 3-1 advantage over Adesanya.

'The Last Stylebender' was defeated twice in kickboxing by Pereira as well as UFC 281, before coming unstuck earlier this year at UFC 287. Adesanya and 'Poatan' may have crossed paths for the final time, as the Brazilian announced his move to light heavyweight several days after his defeat.

Israel Adesanya has now penned a sincere letter to his greatest adversary, and thanked Alex Pereira for pushing 'The Last Stylebender' further than he could have gone on his own. He said:

"I love this game. Nothing compares on this planet, in this life than putting it all on the line. One shot, the whole world watching…waiting…then BOOM! HISSTORY. Our individual legends will always be intertwined because of the stories we’ve told with our beautiful violence."

He added:

"I’m grateful we have this rivalry, I’m grateful he beat me. It forced me to grow, made me better. Now I have done the same for him, the gift that keeps on giving…ass whoopings. Shoutout to the Warrior from Brazil Alex “Poatan” Pereira!"

See the post below:

💘💘💘❤️‍🔥 I love this game. 🎲🎲
Nothing compares on this planet, in this life than putting it all on the line. One shot, the whole world watching…waiting…then BOOM!! 🤯 HISSTORY.
Our individual legends will always be intertwined because of the stories we’ve told with our… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/SAuRf2SzSo