Dricus Du Plessis praises “incredible champion” Israel Adesanya but doesn’t think he’s the middleweight GOAT

Dricus Du Plessis says Israel Adesanya is an incredible champion, but he doesn’t believe ‘Stylebender’ is the middleweight GOAT.

Adesanya is the current UFC middleweight champion and has defended the title five times. He recently reclaimed the belt after losing it to Alex Pereira – which is a feat Silva never accomplished. However, ‘The Spider’ defended his belt 10 times, and with that Du Plessis believes Silva is still the middleweight GOAT.

“Listen, he is very very close to being the greatest. He has been absolutely amazing, he’s an incredible champion in the way he fights. He has really made it look easy in a lot of his fights,” Du Plessis said to The Schmo. “I think he is making the case of being one of the greatest middleweights ever, but the great Anderson Silva, I still believe is there some work to do for Adesanya to be considered the greatest without a doubt. But he is making a case, he’s been an incredible champion and is an incredible fighter.”

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It is interesting to hear Dricus Du Plessis praise Israel Adesanya as the two have an intense rivalry. They have continued to take shots at one another on social media and in interviews, but Du Plessis has nothing but praise for the body of work Adesanya has done in his career.

Although Du Plessis thinks Adesanya is closing in on becoming the middleweight GOAT, the South African is confident he would dethrone ‘The Last Stylebender’ to become the new champ.

Of course, to get the title shot, Dricus Du Plessis will need to beat Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 next weekend. Dana White has already called the fight a title eliminator and Du Plessis is confident he will secure the fight with Adesanya and test his skills against a potential GOAT.