Dana White, Israel Adesanya Cast Doubt on Dricus Du Plessis’ Status as No. 1 Contender

Dricus Du Plessis is far from certain to receive the next UFC middleweight title shot.

After Du Plessis handily defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 291 and subsequently engaged in a heated confrontation with Israel Adesanya in the Octagon, it looked like the promotion had a ready-made storyline at the top of the division. However, it appears that some parties — namely, Dana White and Adesanya — involved have cooled on the possibility of Du Plessis as the No. 1 contender after the South African balked at facing “The Last Stylebender” at UFC 293 due to lingering injuries.

Now, Adesanya will defend his crown against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 on Saturday night in Sydney. While the reigning champion is heavily favored to dispatch his opponent, it’s not a given that Du Plessis will be next in line.

“You know how much I love when guys turn down fights,” White said at the post-fight press conference for the Contender Series on Tuesday night. “I don’t know. We’ll see what happens on Saturday and then we’ll go from there.”

Adesanya, when informed of White’s remarks at a media day session, agreed with the UFC president’s sentiment.

“I don’t know – you have to ask Dana,” Adesanya said (video via MMAjunkie.com). “Dricus doesn’t know how to play the game. Look, you can’t sit on your f—ing – is it ranking or whatever? – and think you’ve got it locked in.

“This is the UFC. If you look back at the history of the UFC, s—t happens, you know? So he thought he was sitting pretty, but he might have to fight two more times before he gets a shot at this.”

Jared Cannonier is currently in Sydney to weigh in as the back-up fighter for the UFC 293 main event, and Adesanya implied that the winner of the clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa at UFC 294 could be given preference over Du Plessis down the road.

“He doesn’t call the shots – I do,” Adesanya said. “I need you to understand that. I call the shots. You don’t call the shots, ‘D—kess.’ You need to understand this. You can sit pretty wherever you want, but if I decide to, I might give it to whoever wins between Costa and Khamzat, not you.”