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Israel Adesanya was called out by Dricus du Plessis following the South African's title victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 297.
After a competitive five rounds, the judges awarded 'Stillknocks' a split-decision win. He was then interviewed by Daniel Cormier in the octagon, where he called out 'The Last Stylebender':
"There was 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!"
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The former two-time middleweight champion has now responded to du Plessis, as he took to Instagram and posted the following:
"Never stole shine. Never lost mine!!"
The pair shared a heated face-off in the octagon following du Plessis' KO victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. A bout between them was targeted for UFC 293, but an injury that 'Stillknocks' had carried into his clash with Whittaker ruled him out of a title fight with the then-champion.
Sean Strickland was selected as Adesanya's opponent instead of du Plessis, and the rest is history.
Sean O'Malley is looking to Israel Adesanya for inspiration ahead of UFC 299
Sean O'Malley is set to face off against Marlon 'Chito' Vera in the main event of UFC 299 in Miami on March 9. The pair will battle for the bantamweight title, which will be a much-anticipated rematch of their UFC 252 clash in 2020.
Vera defeated 'Sugar' in their first fight after compromising O'Malley's peroneal nerve with a calf kick and finishing his opponent via ground-and-pound strikes.
Just as Israel Adesanya exacted revenge over Alex Pereira in their MMA rematch at UFC 287 in Miami, O'Malley is hoping to replicate the former champion's performance.
'Sugar' recently previewed his upcoming title fight during an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri, where he said:
"[Israel Adesanya] knocked out Alex Pereira in their rematch [in Miami]. You know what I mean. So I'm just gonna have to go out there and do the same thing. Knock 'Chito' out in the rematch, and rewrite history. It will be beautiful."
Watch the video below (2:30):
