BREAKING: Dricus Du Plessis reportedly out and Sean Strickland in for UFC 293, Israel Adesanya passes verdict

Dricus Du Plessis is reportedly out of his highly anticipated fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September in Sydney, Australia.

Ariel Helwani reported on Twitter that the South African may not be able to compete at UFC 293 with such a short turnaround. He will be replaced by Sean Strickland on the September 9 card.

"It’s not quite official but pretty close at this point that Dricus Du Plessis will not be able to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney. He was banged up going into the Robert Whittaker fight, and that turnaround is just too soon, I’m told. If that ends up being the case, and Israel Adesanya stays on the card, which is his desire, it’ll be Adesanya x Sean Strickland for the middleweight title on 9/9."

Reacting to the situation, Israel Adesanya posted a video on his socials, slamming Du Plessis and calling on Sean Strickland to do 'The Man Dance' with him in September in Sydney.

In the video, Israel Adesanya claimed that Dricus Du Plessis is backing out due to a foot issue and said:

"I don't even know how to start this, Dricus Du Pu*sy... You a bi*ch, that's why you're not taking this fight. Your foot's sore... You're out. Strickland, you're in. Let's do 'The Man Dance.' I'll show you how to really dance."

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The beef between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis

Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis shared an intense face-off in the aftermath of UFC 290, where 'Stillknocks' secured an incredible second-round knockout over Robert Whittaker to secure a middleweight title shot.

Their octagon confrontation had heavy racial undertones after the South African made some dismissive comments about being more 'African' than Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou.

In his last fight, Adesanya beat Alex Pereira at UFC 287 to reclaim his middleweight title. Sean Strickland, meanwhile, is on a two-fight win streak after beating Abus Magomedov. 'Tarzan' emphatically called for a title shot after his win and it seems he may just get his wish granted.