Israel Adesanya has a new batch of contenders lined up and waiting to challenge him.

UFC 290 was a perfect storm for Adesanya. The promotion’s reigning two-time middleweight champion’s self-proclaimed manifestation of a Dricus Du Plessis victory last month came true in incredible fashion. At the midway point of his fight with former champion Robert Whittaker, South Africa’s finest closed the show with a jab and ground-and-pound follow-up strikes, shocking the world and solidifying his place as No. 1 contender. Unfortunately for “Stillknocks,” he went into the bout with a foot injury that prevented him from making a quick turnaround at the UFC’s title fight target date of UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia on September 9.

Adesanya has been extremely vocal about his desire and motivation to put a beating on Du Plessis. “The Last Stylebender” is now unsure if the fight will line up after its seemingly miraculous moment where the stars aligned. Ultimately, it’s a matchup he remains interested in and thinks would be massive in the grand scheme.

“We’ll see if he shows up but also, I’ll see how I feel,” Adesanya told MMA Junkie. “I’ll see how I feel. I do want that fight. I feel like that will be one of the most important fights in sporting history. I mean that when I say in history. I’ll see how I feel because again, time keeps on ticking. Time waits for no man.”

Du Plessis’ inability to make the turnaround date led to the biggest opportunity of fellow top-ranked contender Sean Strickland’s career. Just one year ago, Strickland was a single win away from earning his first crack at gold but two in-octagon setbacks required him to rebound with solid performances over Nassourdine Imavov and Abus Magomedov. Now, his high activity and recent wins have allowed him to get a chance at championship status.

Adesanya and Strickland already had their first encounter in the form of the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference and now that they’re booked to collide, chaos is expected to ensue at part two of the build-up.

“Behind the scenes, when it’s just me and him, I’ve been the locker room with him — I’ve been backstage — even last time I saw him in Vegas I smacked him in the d***,” Adesanya said. “Behind the scenes, then his public persona, people think he’s this guy. ‘He’s crazy.’ Behind the scenes he’s soft. I’m soft. I won’t even call him soft. That’s actually an insult to soft people. He’s like that idiot in the back of the class who just wants to talk and talk over you to get his point across. Nothing, in particular, he’s said has gotten to me, just anytime he breathes he says some idiotic things. I kind of want to show people what happens backstage, I want to show them on the main stage, that he’s my b****.

“I’m a loud man when I need to be loud, but I’m very quiet and I observe. He definitely has his own insecurities and whatnot, like, ‘I’m a man and I ride a motorcycle and wear my boots and drink my beer.’ He wants to be that guy and macho, machismo. I don’t need to prove I’m a man by doing all that s***. I just be me, and I’ll still f*** you up.”

Strickland is expected to be a relatively easy stepping stone for the champion, currently sitting at +300 odds as the betting underdog. From Adesanya’s perspective, he believes Strickland isn’t quite getting the credit he deserves ahead of their clash. Despite that, he still envisions another one-sided title defense being added to his legendary resume.

“I’m on a warpath, and I’m going to end this man,” Adesanya said. “He’s getting knocked out. He’s getting knocked out in this fight. But I believe his team will really try to get him to wrestle or clinch with me. He’ll get dumped on his ass and knocked out again. I don’t take him lightly because a man with everything to gain and nothing to lose is a very dangerous man. I take him very seriously, but I just know who I am and where I’m at.”

---

TOP STORIES

Numbers. UFC Singapore weigh-in results: Max Holloway, Korean Zombie set for main event

Assessment. Darren Till believes Conor McGregor will never fight again: ’He’s struggling to let go’

Struggle. Max Holloway gets emotional about Hawaii wildfires: ‘It feels a little bit heavier now’

Bantamweight. Merab Dvalishvili calls out Sean O’Malley: ‘I stole his jacket, so let’s see if I can steal his belt now’

Boxing. Mike Tyson on Francis Ngannou: Tyson Fury’s ‘never been in the ring with somebody that can punch this hard’

Rankings. Francis Ngannou finally exits, Khamzat Chimaev in limbo

Punishment. Mayra Bueno Silva, Walt Harris temporary suspensions extended by Nevada Athletic Commission

Kickboxing. Rico Verhoeven returns for title unification bout against Tariq Osaro at GLORY Collision 6

Reaction. Terrance McKinney explains why he responded to haters with a crotch-chop celebration at UFC Vegas 78

---

VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin chats with Merab Dvalishvili.

Seven reasons not to sleep on Erin Blanchfield.

Joanna polo.

A big Pico KO.

Invicta: Powerhouse Playback.

All Maxcess 4.

Stylebender trailer.

UFC champs school Logan Paul.

Mighty Mouse watches underground fights.

Peace in Chaos.

---

LISTEN UP

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses how the UFC 292 hangover is real, Max Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie, more.

---

MORNING MUSIC

---

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Birthday girl.

Wild.

Funk Master plus Mighty Mouse.

Gone fishing.

Nattie Ice matchmaking.

Punch it.

Reminder.

---

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Kevin Jousset (8-2) vs. Kiefer Crosbie (10-3); UFC 293, Sept. 9

Joe Pyfer (11-2) vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan (12-5); UFC Vegas 80, Oct. 7

Darren Elkins (27-11) vs. T.J. Brown (17-10); UFC Vegas 81, Oct. 14

Nikolas Motta (13-5) vs. Trey Ogden (16-6); UFC Vegas 82, Nov. 18

Amanda Ribas (11-4) vs. Luana Pinheiro (11-1); UFC Vegas 82, Nov. 18

---

FINAL THOUGHTS

The more I look at the timeline of Adesanya vs. Strickland, the more I feel that the Du Plessis missing his shot narrative has been blown out of proportion. It was such a quick turnaround that he’s not really missing all that much time between what would be his now-potential title shot. I don’t expect him to have to fight again, unless Strickland pulls off the upset, of course. Regardless, it’s all gotten pretty interesting.

Happy Friday, everyone. Have a great weekend. Thanks for reading!

---

EXIT POLL

---

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.