"You're new here, kid" - Israel Adesanya reacts to Dricus Du Plessis losing No. 1 contender spot to UFC 294 winner
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya had some stern words for Dricus Du Plessis, who is the No. 2-ranked middleweight contender.
Du Plessis won against Robert Whittaker in what appeared to be a title eliminator at UFC 290 with a Performance of the Night-worthy showing. With that, he was considered the next challenger to Adesanya.
Adesanya and Du Plessis were meant to face each other at UFC 293, but the South African turned down the opportunity citing an undisclosed injury. At the upcoming UFC 294 pay-per-view, Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman will take each other on in the co-main event with a potential title shot against Sean Strickland up for grabs.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Israel Adesanya reminded Du Plessis of his warning earlier about the UFC's volatile nature and how a position cannot be taken for granted:
“[Dricus thought he was sitting pretty as the No.1 contender] Did I not say? Did I not say? Told you, I said you don’t know how the UFC works. You’re new here, kid. Just know your role. So you thought, ‘Oh I’ve got the number one spot, of course.’ Like, pfft, you don’t know how business works in the deserts of Nevada. Things happen there. You can’t sit pretty. So again, now the winner of this [Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev] is the number one.”
Check out Adesanya's full comments on his YouTube channel below [10:30]:
Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman sounds off on Dricus Du Plessis
Israel Adesanya's longtime coach Eugene Bareman had also sounded off on Dricus Du Plessis immediately after his decision to turn down the fight at UFC 293.
Bareman warned Du Plessis about his misconception of getting a title shot again while stating that he understands the UFC as a promotion much better:
"You think you’re going to get it again, but you don’t know what this machine does. You don’t know the UFC. You don’t know how they twist and turn things. Never feel comfortable with where you are. If there’s something in front of you that you’ve been working for your whole life, don’t think for a minute that it can’t just be taken away just like that. And he had it and he let it slip. They can’t be sitting comfortable thinking that they got the next shot. Because they don’t. Because I know this sport.”
Dricus Du Plessis is now ranked No.2 behind Israel Adesanya, who has stated his intention of not being active for a while. The South African may have to fight off newer challengers in Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman if he's to receive the first shot at 'Tarzan'.
Check out Eugene Bareman's full comments below: