UFC 300 was very close to having a very different main event altogether. Ahead of the much-anticipated event, many believed that the main fight would feature Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis. The fight never materialized for multiple reasons, and the fans have a completely different main event. Former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has now revealed that he was initially contacted to headline UFC 300!

However, Dricus Du Plessis and his team denied reportedly the opportunity. After listening to all the claims, ‘Stillknocks’ has finally given his reason for not accepting the fight. Let us find out why the middleweight fight never happened.

Dricus Du Plessis opens up about his rumored UFC 300 fight

Dricus Du Plessis surprised the UFC fans when he defeated former champion Sean Strickland. The pair met at UFC 297 for the much-anticipated middleweight title fight. ‘Stillknocks’ entered the fight full of confidence and kept his winning momentum going. He defeated ‘Tarzan’ via split decision and walked out of the Octagon as the new champion.

After his win, Israel Adesanya, while speaking to Theo Von, claimed that he was next in line for a title shot. However, the champion and his team showed no interest in taking up the fight. Although many suspected the South African did not want a quick turnaround after fighting in January, there was more to the story.

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In a recent podcast appearance, the champion said, “I was in a moon boot. I wasn’t able to train, because with a broken foot, it’s stationary, I couldn’t train. So now you want me to have a six-week camp to fight at UFC 300( against) one of the best people to ever do it.. It was with a heavy heart I had to decline UFC 300 because what an amazing privilege it is to be headlining that card. But (Israel Adesanya) saying he’s been summoned, no. You are summoned when I say you’re summoned.”

Adesanya and Du Plessis were previously supposed to meet at UFC 293. But the fight never happened because ‘Stillknocks’ suffered a foot injury last year as well. It will now be interesting to see whether the fight happens in the near future.

There has been no reported date on the horizon except maybe the UFC’s upcoming return to Australia for a  PPV. Meanwhile, Adesanya is currently busy sharing his wisdom with Jamahal Hill before his fight with Alex Pereira. ‘The Last Style Bender’ also picked his favorite for the event, but the champion is unfazed by his prediction.

Alex Pereira doesn’t quite worry about Adesanya’s advice

Jamahal Hill will be desperate to get back his belt, which he never lost. The former champion suffered an Achilles tendon injury, forcing him to vacate the title. As ‘Sweet Dreams’ prepares to take on current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira at the historic UFC 300 event, the former champion is confident of beating him and even has the support of Israel Adesanya. Hill was recently seen taking special advice from him before his clash. But Pereira seemed absolutely unbothered by the advice his former opponent gave.

Pereira recently made a statement on UFC.com and shared his opinion. He said, “I saw [Hill] was doing a video call with Adesanya. Honestly, it needed to be on video because if he goes over there to train with Adesanya, Adesanya is gonna kick his a**, break his leg, and he’s not gonna be able to fight, so I’m glad they did it over video.” 

The experts have already started making their prediction, and it seems ‘Poatan’ might just have an upper hand in the battle. The 36-year-old will look to keep his winning momentum going when he takes on Jamahal Hill next. Will ‘Poatan’ be able to defend his title at UFC 300? Let us know in the comments below.

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