"You don't know what this machine does" - Israel Adesanya's coach claims Dricus Du Plessis will pay for taking title shot for granted

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was expected to fight South African challenger Dricus du Plessis in his next title fight but the latter pulled out due to an undisclosed injury.

Du Plessis and Adesanya faced off at UFC 290 inside the octagon but their matchup has been delayed for the forseeable future. Sean Strickland will now replace du Plessis in the Sydney showdown at UFC 293. Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman spoke in an interview with Submission Radio about du Plessis missing out on a title shot.

“The problem is if you don’t step up and take fights, you go into the pool. That’s a fact. Nothing in this sport is solid until there’s something signed on the dotted line. If he’s got nothing signed on the dotted line, then he’s out there in the ether. He had a shot. It’s the same shot that many of my boys have had who have fought for titles or have titles. And we fought with horrific injuries because you don’t take that lightly... And yeah, it’s been a bad injury. So what? You’ve taken your shot for granted."

Bareman then cautioned against the workings of UFC and how uncertain the sport is.

"You think you’re going to get it again, but you don’t know what this machine does. You don’t know the UFC. You don’t know what they do. You don’t know how they twist and turn things. Never feel comfortable with where you are. If there’s something in front of you that you’ve been working for your whole life, don’t think for a minute that it can’t just be taken away just like that. And he had it and he let it slip. They can’t be sitting comfortable thinking that they got the next shot. Because they don’t. Because I know this sport.”

Check out his full comments below:

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Israel Adesanya's coach is wary of Sean Strickland's potential advantage against 'The Last Stylebender'

Israel Adesanya is set to take on Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on September 10 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Both middleweights have traded digs and insults at each other in the lead up to the fight's announcment. Although Israel Adesanya has a wealth of title fight experience, his coach Eugene Bareman believes Strickland has something going his way.

He mentioned that Strickland could harness the momentum from his recent win against Abusupiyan Magomedov and use it in his fight against Adesanya.

"A quick turnaround coming off another fight can be an advantage if you use it the right way. His team knows that. He's got a smart team, he's got a smart coach... If he was smart, he would have gone into training straight away."

Check out his comments in the interview below [5:37]: