Dricus Du Plessis thinks Israel Adesanya’s best days are behind him.
After Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) suffered a third consecutive loss for the first time in his combat sports career and fell to 1-4 in his past five fights with a second-round knockout defeat to Nassourdine Imavov this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 250, many have questioned the future of the former longtime middleweight champion.
Adesanya is in an unprecedented spot, and at 35, has already achieved the highest of highs. He is just one fight removed from unsuccessfully challenging Du Plessis at UFC 305 in August, though, and has looked particularly competitive in his past two bouts.
Du Plessis, who puts his 185-pound belt on the line in a rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312 on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+), is among those speculating what Adesanya’s future holds.
“For Izzy, I don’t think there’s another title run,” Du Plessis told reporters at UFC 312 media day. “With all due respect. I think his legacy is cemented and will always be there, and whatever he feels like doing, he can do. I put him in the same category as Anderson Silva at this stage of, lose as many fights as you want. You’ll always have your legacy. Anderson Silva, after his reign ended, I don’t care how many times he lost. He was still my GOAT. He was still the greatest middleweight of all time. And I feel like Izzy is in that area, where whatever you decided to do – take super fights here or there if you want to, if you still have the passion for it.”
Du Plessis wouldn’t exactly endorse Adesanya continuing to fight for the wrong reasons. However, he said Adesanya’s history in the sport is already etched in stone, and no future results should impact the greatness of his peak form.
“If you’ve lost the passion then yeah, you have everything, don’t do it anymore,” Du Plessis said. “You don’t have to take any more trauma, you don’t have to put yourself through that. But if you want to do that, go for it. Nothing he can do can tarnish that legacy he’s already built.”
Related
Sean Strickland shares uplifting message with Israel Adesanya after UFC Saudi Arabia loss
Video: Should Israel Adesanya retire after UFC Saudi Arabia TKO loss?
Daniel Cormier offers measured take on Israel Adesanya after UFC Saudi Arabia loss
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dricus Du Plessis: Israel Adesanya done as UFC title contender, but ‘legacy is cemented’
