Dricus Du Plessis insists that his decision to turn down a fight with Israel Adesanya on the UFC 300 card was purely common sense.
Du Plessis explained his thinking in a chat with fellow UFC star Cameron Saaiman.
Adesanya has lashed out at Du Plessis for rejecting the fight.
Du Plessis had also rejected a fight with Adesanya at UFC Sydney.
The fighters will now go head to head at UFC 305.
DRICUS DU PLESSIS REVEALS WHY HE TURNED DOWN ISRAEL ADESANYA
In both cases, Du Plessis was carrying injuries from previous fights.
He added that as a champion he wants to take on fights on his terms.
“With the conversations of [UFC] 300, that would’ve been a massive fight, me and ‘Izzy’,” Du Plessis told Cameron Saaiman.
“It was on the table, 100 percent, but one thing people don’t realize is why would I go and start a camp once again injured if I am the champion? Taking risks is one thing, I have been taking risks, a lot, but why would I risk?
“I’m the champion now, and I can fight when I’m ready. I think ‘Izzy’ misjudges himself as still being a champion and he’s not. You will fight when you get the opportunity. You don’t dictate when I fight.”
STILLKNOCKS WANTS TO PUT ON A SHOW
Du Plessis added that he wants to entertain in his first title defence.
“That’s what I tell people. Why wouldn’t I want to fight?” Du Plessis said. “Do you know what the payday would look like? Do you know how the hype — that’s gonna go down in history as one of the biggest events ever, UFC 300. Of course, I want to be a part of that, but there’s one thing that matters to me more than fighting on a massive card like 300. That is being able to defend my title and doing it in a spectacular fashion.
“Yeah, I can take him down and hold him down if I want to. He can’t stop that. I can do that for five rounds. I don’t want to fight like that. That’s not the way I fight. I entertain people. That’s why I have so many performance bonuses. The way we train, I’m going to go out there and give a performance. I don’t want to win, I want to win spectacularly.”
Du Plessis claimed the UFC belt after a five-round war with Sean Strickland in January.
The South African MMA star earned a shot at the title through a UFC eliminator fight against Robert Whittaker.
Du Plessis is rumoured to be holding out for UFC Africa to stage his first title defence.
