Dricus du Plessis insists he ‘manhandled’ Israel Adesanya in sparring as a 19-year-old

Dricus du Plessis claims he ‘manhandled’ Israel Adesanya in sparring when he was 19. 

The South African, who could earn a shot at Adesanya’s belt with a win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 next month, has a different account of his training with the now champion in 2014. 

‘Stylebender’ originally spoke about sparring Du Plessis, admitting that he was bettered in the grappling department but picked him apart on the feet. 

‘I remember this. We actually sparred,’ said Adesanya on IMPAULSIVE. ‘Hey, sparring is sparring. Also, you know what? I’m coming from China. 

‘I was doing kickboxing over there. I had no MMA, nothing. I was just kickboxing. I had MMA already, but it wasn’t sharp. It was blunt. My jiu-jitsu was blunt, very blunt.

Israel Adesanya (left) has a different version of events in sparring to Dricus de Plessis (right) 

Adesanya has accused the South African fighter (pictured left fighting Derek Brunson) of creating a racial divide and said he wants to ‘torture’ his rival

‘So when we’re sparring—I don’t know if we did two rounds or one,’ continued Adesanya. 

‘It was so long ago as well. This is 2014. So long ago. I remember like on the grappling, he had me. But on the striking, I just messed him up.’

Du Plessis, however, claims there was no stand-up sparring whatsoever.

‘We trained in Thailand together,’ Du Plessis told The Schmo. ‘I think I was 19 years old at the time. He had quite a record in MMA already back then. 

‘I was 3-0 when we trained together. He said I beat him in the grappling exchanges. He is 100 percent correct in that. 

‘I did manhandle him in the grappling and wrestling exchanges, but we did not do a single round of striking together. Not one.

‘That was his way of saving himself, saying, “Yeah, but I beat him in the striking”. We never did striking together. 

‘Not one round. When we sparred, we grappled and we wrestled. We never did one single round of striking together. Not as far as I know and that’s something you would remember.’

Du Plessis and Adesanya have previously clashed over the South African’s comments about being a true African fighter in the UFC given that he lives and trains there. 

Adesanya (left) admitted Du Plessis had the better of him when they wrestled in training 

He said: ‘Did those belts ever go to Africa? As far as I know, they came to America and New Zealand. I’m going to take a belt to Africa. I’m the African fighter in the UFC. Myself and Cameron (Saaiman), we breathe African air. We wake up in Africa every day. 

‘We train in Africa, we’re African born, we’re African raised, we still reside in Africa, we train out of Africa – that’s an African champion, and that’s who I’ll be.’

Nigerian-born Adesanya responded: ‘You can’t know your history – I have never questioned him as an African because, yeah, you were born in Africa, South Africa, of course, you’re an African.

‘I’ve never questioned that.

‘But who the f**k is this c*****r to tell me who the f**k I am, who the f**k Kamaru is, who the f**k Ngannou is. I’m like, ‘Are you dumb?”‘