Israel Adesanya responds to callout from UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis: “This arc in my story was written long ago”

Israel Adesanya has responded after being called out by newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.

Du Plessis (21-2 MMA) got his first crack at UFC gold this evening in Toronto when he challenged Sean Strickland (28-6 MMA) for the promotion’s undisputed 185lbs title.

Dricus Du Plessis had entered the fight coming off a second-round TKO victory over Robert Whittaker at July’s UFC 290 event. That win had marked the South African’s eighth in a row and had him poised for a showdown with Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.

However, injuries prevented ‘Stillknocks’ from making the quick turnaround and the UFC 293 title shot ultimately went to Sean Strickland who was healthy and ready to go.

While many assumed ‘Stylebender’ would cruise through ‘Tarzan’ and quickly move on to his inevitable showdown with ‘DDP’, that did not prove to be the case. Instead, Sean Strickland put on an absolute masterclass and wound-up dethroning Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision.

With that definitive result, Dricus Du Plessis was called up to be the man to serve as Strickland’s first title defense.

That bout went down this evening in Toronto and absolutely lived up to expectations. Du Plessis and Strickland went toe-to-toe for twenty-five straight minutes, and after five rounds of thrilling action, fans and fighters were seemingly split on who they had winning the fight.

The judges’ ended up being split in their decision as well, as Dricus Du Plessis was listed as the winner on two of the three scorecards, thus earning him the middleweight championship.

In his post-fight speech, Du Plessis took his shot to callout Israel Adesanya for their long-awaited grudge match.

“I’m really enjoying this,” Du Plessis said pointing to his UFC title belt. “I would love… There was another guy who tried to take my shine. He lost his shine and now I have your shine. He didn’t get into the cage tonight, but Israel Adesanya, get your ass back in the UFC so we can settle the score.”

Well, it did not take long for the former UFC middleweight champion to respond. ‘Stylebender’ took to ‘X‘ with the following comments regarding Du Plessis’ callout.

✨IS~RA~EL 🐉 ADÉSÀNYÀ‼️
This arc in my story was written long ago. Our paths are destined to cross again. Stay tuned for the next episode, thanks for watching.
We Write History ✨✍🏾 pic.twitter.com/c5EHGWBjlL

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) January 21, 2024

“✨IS~RA~EL 🐉 ADÉSÀNYÀ‼️ This arc in my story was written long ago. Our paths are destined to cross again. Stay tuned for the next episode, thanks for watching. We Write History ✨✍🏾”

For what it is worth, UFC CEO Dana White is definitely onboard with doing the Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya grudge match next, possibly at UFC 300.