“The reason the Strickland and Du Plessis fight is happening so early is because the winner will face Izzy at UFC 300,” “American Gangster” said on another edition of his podcast. “The decision is not final, which I’ve been made clear, but it’s one of the most likely options. From what I’ve been told, Izzy is close to saying ‘yes’.”
“The only thing is, I’d rather Izzy come out before the Strickland-Du Plessis fight and say, ‘I’m going to wait for the winner in April at UFC 300.’ It’s just that if Izzy challenges after the fight, it’ll look like he waited until he was comfortable. Like, he only gave his consent after he knew exactly who his opponent was. But that’s not typical of Izzy, that’s not his story. He challenges the toughest guys, and I’d like to see him do it first.”
A few days earlier, Israel Adesanya, who sensationally lost his title against Sean Strickland this September, revealed that he had changed his mind about putting his career on pause, promising that his next fight would be announced soon.
As a reminder, Strickland and Du Plessis’ fight on Jan. 20 will headline UFC 297 in Toronto, with UFC 300 taking place April 13 in Las Vegas.