Chael Sonnen recently provided his thoughts on the possibility of a rematch between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis’s previous bout. “The American Gangster” remarked that it is highly improbable that the two would ever see each other again and provided an explanation as to why he held this belief.
At UFC 297, which took place over the weekend at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, “Stillknocks” presented Strickland with a challenge for the middleweight title of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A split decision was used to determine the winner of their fight, which was a fiercely contested affair. After five rounds of intense fighting, du Plessis was crowned the new champion of the middleweight division.
Following the event, the South African fighter made a notable statement in which he called out Israel Adesanya! On the other hand, due to the fact that the fight was so closely contested, a significant number of fans demanded that Strickland and du Plessis immediately engage in another engagement.
Sonnen shared his reasoning for why he does not believe the rematch will take place in a video that was recently released to YouTube. Sonnen made the following statement in reference to the fact that contenders such as Khamzat Chimaev and Adesanya have been negotiating for a title match against du Plessis:
Consider the case of Strickland and du Plessis. As far as I can tell, there is anything that you guys are interested in. I have not heard any of them make a request for it. Additionally, I am aware that both of them are well aware that Adesanya-du Plessis is the path that the corporation is heading in. They are both completely aware that Chimaev is speaking up, and they have been assured that they will have the opportunity to do so.
He went on to say:
“If they don’t get in front of Chimaev and they don’t get in front of Izzy, it’s highly unlikely that it will ever happen again,” the speaker said. Nevertheless, they have not yet fully articulated their thoughts.
Listen to the comments made by Chael Sonnen.
Robert Whittaker on potential Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya fight
In a recent interview, Robert Whittaker discussed his thoughts on the possibility of a bout between Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis. The opinion of ‘The Reaper’ was that if the two actually engaged in combat, ‘Stillknocks’ would emerge victorious.
As was previously known, du Plessis recently won the UFC middleweight title after defeating Sean Strickland. Immediately after the victories, du Plessis called out Adesanya for a grudge bout. They have a past that is fraught with conflict.
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During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Whittaker expressed his opinion on the possibility of a title bout between du Plessis and Adesanya. He claimed that he thinks the South African fighter would be the best choice. An explanation from “The Reaper”:
I am going to go with the DDP. Simply due to the fact that, similar to Sean’s situation with Dricus, the most likely candidate is Sean, but Dricus demonstrated what he was willing to accomplish and what he was willing to go through. Izzy, is it possible for him to do that again? Who will know?… He is awkward, and he is going to maintain his forward momentum throughout the entire process. The fact that he is getting pummeled does not change the fact that he demonstrated such tenacity during that fight. I’ll go with the DDP.”
