Daniel Cormier urges UFC to save Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya fight ‘at all costs’

January 2, 2024 6:30 pm ET

Daniel Cormier thinks Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya needs to happen.

Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Adesanya were on a collision course when Adesanya was middleweight champion, but Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) dethroning “The Stylebender” at UFC 293 put a wrench in those plans.

The animosity between Du Plessis and Adesanya was intensely building, and Cormier would love to see them settle their grudge match. Du Plessis challenges middleweight champion Strickland in the UFC 297 headliner on Jan. 20, and regardless of the outcome, Cormier thinks Du Plessis should fight Adesanya next.

“That build was going to be so crazy,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “If you watch Strickland fight Du Plessis (at UFC 297), you still preserve that matchup, regardless, for Adesanya, right? Du Plessis wins: Title fight for Adesanya. Build that whole thing. Du Plessis loses: Fight vs. Adesanya. Build that whole thing.

“You save that matchup regardless, because if you put him in there with Khamzat (Chimaev), it’s a great fight. It makes all the sense in the world. It would seem like a No. 1 contenders fight. But if Khamzat gets through him, now you might lose that fight with Du Plessis if he wins. You save Adesanya-Du Plessis at all costs.”

After he lost to Strickland this past September, Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) announced that he would be taking some time off. But Adesanya recently hinted that fans can expect to see him soon.

“I believe that’s one that will motivate Adesanya,” Cormier said of the Du Plessis fight. “Adesanya did not seem motivated for Strickland. He thought he was going to run through Sean Strickland.

“Honestly, I’ve heard stories now out of Sean Strickland’s gym. The improvement this dude is making daily, I hear, is unbelievable. So if anyone’s not motivated for that dude, it’s a problem. He has this problem of getting overlooked, and it’s costing people.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

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