Dricus Du Plessis thinks Israel Adesanya ’s best days are behind him. After Adesanya (24-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) suffered a third consecutive loss for the first time in his combat sports career and fell to 1-4 in his past five fights with a second-round knockout defeat to Nassourdine Imavov this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 250, many have questioned the future of the former longtime middleweight champion. Adesanya is in an unprecedented spot, and at 35, has already achieved the highest of highs. He is just one fight removed from unsuccessfully challenging Du Plessis at UFC 305 in August, though, and has looked particularly competitive in his past two bouts. Du Plessis, who puts his 185-pound belt on the line in a rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312 on Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney ( ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+), is among those speculating what Adesanya’s future holds. “For Izzy, I don’t think there’s another title run,” Du Plessis told reporters at UFC 312 media day.
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