UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be in attendance at UFC 290 on July 8 to watch Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis square off for the next title shot.
But if Adesanya had his way, he'd be defending his belt against Du Plessis next month.
Adesanya said Monday on "The MMA Hour" that he reached out to UFC president Dana White about scheduling that matchup - potentially at UFC 291 on July 29 - but the promotion ultimately went in a different direction.
"I tried to make it happen," Adesanya said, adding, "I don't want to recycle (the same opponents)."
Adesanya and Du Plessis, the No. 6-ranked middleweight, have gone back and forth in the media in recent months. Adesanya was born in Nigeria and moved to New Zealand as a child, while Du Plessis is from and lives in South Africa. Their beef stems from Du Plessis' comments in March about Adesanya not residing in Africa. After beating Alex Pereira to regain the title in April, Adesanya said, without mentioning Du Plessis by name, that he would "gladly drag his carcass across South Africa."
The UFC will likely want the winner of Whittaker-Du Plessis to face Adesanya at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney, Australia, but that'd be a quick turnaround for the challenger. Adesanya said he plans to "manifest" Du Plessis winning in the first round so he has no excuses about returning to the Octagon two months later.
Adesanya admitted that defeating Whittaker - a former champion who's lost to just Adesanya in nearly a decade - in that fashion will be "a hard ask," but he plans to "pray on this and make it happen."
"If it's Rob, it's Rob - whatever. I already got a plan for Rob if it's Rob," Adesanya said. "But I really, really, really hope it's DDP because I will show him who the f--k I am."
Adesanya said he and Du Plessis sparred "years ago" in Thailand, adding that he "whipped his ass" but Du Plessis seemed to be "a cool kid." Adesanya said he was "supportive" when the UFC signed Du Plessis in 2020 because they were from the same continent.
"So the fact that he came out ... and started to be braggadocios and question me, I was like, 'Who the f--k is this c---?'" Adesanya said. "Wallahi. When that (fight) happens, I'm going to torture him."