Dricus du Plessis calls out Israel Adesanya post-win as 'Drake Curse' hits Sean Strickland at UFC 297

Dricus du Plessis has called out Israel Adesanya following his win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297.

Du Plessis took on Strickland for the UFC middleweight in the main event of the promotion's first pay-per-view card of the year. Going into the fight, 'Tarzan' was backed by a majority of the people if the bout went the distance.

However, that wasn't the case as du Plessis managed to win the fight via a split decision at the end of a five-round war and Strickland was hit with the 'Drake curse'. For those unaware, the Canadian-born musical artist is infamous for bringing bad luck to the fighters he bets on, and the 'Drake curse' stands out as one of the most widely recognized jinxes in sports.

Over the years, several fighters have succumbed to the alleged curse, including Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, etc. The same seems to have been the case with Strickland. Ahead of the UFC middleweight championship at UFC 297, Drake revealed that he had bet $700k on 'Tarzan' to win the bout.

While Strickland started the fight strongly, 'Stillknocks' was able to find his feet in the fight as the rounds progressed and started to do a lot of damage. It wasn't until the fifth round that 'Tarzan' looked to be threatening again. However, it wasn't enough to get the judges nod.

Following the fight, the newly crowned UFC middleweight champion proceeded to call out Adesanya. During the post-fight octagon interview with Daniel Cormier, Dricus du Plessis said:

"There was another guy who tried to take my shine, he lost his shine, and now I have your shine. He didn't get into the cage tonight but Israel Adesanya, get your a** back in the UFC so we can settle the score."

Catch Dricus du Plessis's comments below: