‘I’ve Never Been More Motivated To Kill A Man’

Israel Adesanya’s wish came true at UFC 290 two weekends ago (July 8, 2023).

Dricus Du Plessis earned the biggest win of his career when taking on the former UFC Middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker. Stunning the mixed martial arts (MMA) world, the surging South African, Du Plessis, scored a second round technical knockout over his Australian counterpart.

The fight was billed as the No. 1 contender bout at 185 pounds and the upcoming title tilt was teased immediately after Du Plessis’ win. Before the fight, Adesanya stated how he’ll “manifest” a Du Plessis upset win so that he gets the exact fight he wants.

“I’ve never been more motivated to kill a man,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “When I say that, I mean like not to end his life, but to really put a beating on someone. Not emotional anger. Just really want to take time and really put a beating on someone and I’m going to work my way to get that done in all ways, all shapes, all angles, all aspects of the fight.”

Adesanya and Du Plessis himself appeared to be the strongest believers in Du Plessis ahead of the Whittaker clash, leading to their impending title tilt. No date has been confirmed as of yet, but UFC 293 on Sept. 10, 2023, in Sydney, Australia, has been the rumored target date since the event was announced.

Du Plessis’ finish of “The Reaper” made him only the second Middleweight alongside the champion, Adesanya, to achieve such a victory.

“When it happened, I was just like, ‘F—k yeah,’” Adesanya said. “I was urging him on like, ‘Forward, forward, come on.’ Even at the prep point, I was giving him energy, like, positive affirmations, ‘F—k yeah. Let’s go.’ When it happened, I just lost my s—t.”