Exclusive: Jack Hermansson gives dire prediction about Dricus du Plessis' title reign and potential fight with Israel Adesanya

Jack Hermansson has issued a grim forecast for Dricus du Plessis' championship reign, foreseeing challenges ahead should the South African fighter clash with Israel Adesanya.

'Stillknocks' secured the middleweight championship through a split decision win against Sean Strickland in the headline bout at UFC 297 in Toronto last month. After his victory, du Plessis promptly threw the gauntlet to 'The Last Stylebender' for his first title defense.

While there were early indications of the potential matchup taking place at the highly anticipated UFC 300 event on April 13, the reigning champion has cast doubt on the possibility, citing his ongoing recovery from injuries sustained in his recent bout.

During an exclusive interview with Andrew Whitelaw for Sportskeeda MMA, Hermansson expressed that the matchup between du Plessis and Adesanya would be a thrilling contest, highlighting their extensive history:

"Obviously, Adesanya and Dricus is a fight with a little bit of bad blood as well, that people want to see. Those two are maybe the most exciting ones."

'The Joker' further went on and predicted the outcome of the potential title fight:

"I think he does [if Adesanya could defeat du Plessis]. But it's not an easy fight, either. I think Izzy beats Dricus, but I don't know, man, it's tough. Dricus has definitely grown, and he has shown that he's good, so it's tough."

Check out Jack Hermansson's comments below (10:36):

Hermansson is currently preparing to take on Joe Pyfer in the main event of UFC Vegas 86, scheduled for this weekend at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He is making his comeback to the octagon after suffering a second-round TKO defeat against Roman Dolidze in December 2022. 'The Joker' currently holds a 4-4 record in his last eight appearances in the UFC.

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Jack Hermansson predicts Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa

Robert Whittaker is gearing up to face Paulo Costa in the co-headliner of UFC 298. The pay-per-view event is set to take place on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

In the same interview with Andrew Whitelaw for Sportskeeda MMA, Jack Hermansson provided his prediction for the Whittaker vs. Costa bout:

"I think that Whittaker's going to win, actually. If we don't think about the Dricus fight, like what he did [Marvin] Vettori, it was just a masterclass, so with a performance like that, I think Whittaker." [11:16]