“They summoned me for 300” - Israel Adesanya drops bombshell, says Dricus du Plessis refused top brass’ offer to fight him at UFC 300

Israel Adesanya recently dropped a bombshell as he revealed that there were plans for him to fight Dricus du Plessis at UFC 300.

The middleweights had been linked to a grudge match for quite some time, and their heated rivalry could have definitely warranted a main event slot for the milestone event. During his appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, 'Izzy' mentioned that he was offered a title fight against du Plessis, but the South African turned it down. He said:

"They summoned me for [UFC] 300 and I was like, 'Yep, let's roll', but their side didn't want it...But, they just fought [Sean] Strickland, so maybe he had a little bit niggly injuries and stuff but we all got niggles and what not...I've fought injured for the last how many fights? That's why I took time off. Just to let my body heal and it has healed."

It will be interesting to see whether the promotion still plans to book Du Plessis vs. Adesanya now that they have gone in another direction for UFC 300 or if they will award another contender a title shot instead.

---

Dricus du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya at UFC 297

Despite the long-awaited middleweight title fight not materializing for UFC 300, it appears as though Dricus du Plessis prefers to fight Israel Adesanya next.

Following earning a split decision win over Sean Strickland to become the new middleweight champion last month at UFC 297, du Plessis issued a challenge to 'Izzy' and made it clear that he wanted to defend his title against Adesanya first. He said:

"Another guy who tried to take my shine. He lost his shine, now I have your shine. You didn't get into the cage tonight but Israel Adesanya, get your a** back in the UFC so we can settle the score!" [5:08 - 5:20]

Check out the full video below: