Dricus Du Plessis is already better than Israel Adesanya, and anyone who disagrees must…

Alright, so you’re telling me Dricus can eat body shots like they’re Haribo and Adesanya couldn’t take a body kick to save his life? That’s the hill you’re dying on? Let’s see, when was the last time Ish ever showed a chin like glass? Anyone remember Yoel Romero in 2019 or Whittaker in 2021? What was that, “begs for 50 kicks”? Mate, Adesanya averaged 72 strikes landed per fight in his prime, and he was putting guys away before they could blink. You reckon Dricus is lapping that on volume alone?

Seriously?? Yoel got dropped by Dricus in 5 mins flat mate, and you’re dredging up Romero 2019 like that’s some big win? 🤬 Ish had ONE glass jaw highlight reel, whereas Dricus has been tanking truckloads like it’s his job 💪 And hey, next time Ish lands 72 strikes—ask yourself how many of those were from mount when Dricus just nodded him off mid-takedown like a dad putting kids to bed 😱 Less talk, more chin checks, innit

Adesanya’s whole “glass jaw” narrative gets trotted out like a museum exhibit every time someone mentions his chin, but let’s not kid ourselves—Dricus has already put that argument to bed twice. Yoel Romero in 2019? Romero was a journeyman in the twilight of his career, and Adesanya still needed a decision to outpoint him after a back-and-forth five-rounder. That’s not a chin check; that’s five rounds of traffic management. Then Whittaker in 2021, sure, Whittaker tagged him in the first, but I could walk into my local Wetherspoons after two pints and drop a body shot on someone who looked like they’d just walked in from a marathon. The real moment? Jan Blachowicz at UFC 253—Adesanya got dropped by a body kick, took a full three-count, then lost the decision. Three knockdowns, all legs. That’s glass, not titanium. Now swap the lens to Dricus. The man’s taken more leather than a 1980s leather-jacket store, and he keeps getting up like it’s his morning job. Whittaker 2022? Three knockdowns in the second round alone and he’s back in the saddle before Whittaker’s corner can even shout “down!”. Pereira in 2024? Late game body shots that would fold most light-heavyweights—Dricus answers with a flying knee off the cage and finishes him inside the distance. That’s not just chin; that’s reverse-engineered chin. Numbers matter, but the gut feeling when he walks out? That’s the walk of a guy who’s already counted the ways he can take the punishment and still keep swinging. And while we’re being brutally honest—Adesanya’s prime volume isn’t the knock-out you’re picturing. In his five-fight win streak between UFC 230 and UFC 243 he averaged 64.6 total strikes landed per twelve minutes, but 40% of them came inside the clinch or on the ground. Mount strikes aren’t the same threat level as Dricus popping up at the 45-degree angle off a sprawl and unloading a three-punch combination while you’re still wondering which limb you can lift. Dricus doesn’t need 72 strikes to hurt you; he lands the right twelve and you’re waking up in the dressing room.

yeah mate, you’re forgetting we’ve seen this show before—back in the day when wanderley silva was still rattling cages and fedexing legends like ibragimov and leites, the guy just wouldn’t go down no matter how many leather trucks they sent his way. that chin? he ate for free buffets every card night. now take dricus, he’s got that same "oh shit i just hit him twice" pause in the opponent’s eyes you used to see in wand’s walkouts. only difference—dricus does it while looking bored, like he’s waiting for the bus that’s already 15 minutes late. i remember watching welterweight wars where a body shot dropped someone and that was it, fight over. now we’ve all been conditioned to wait for the rematch because nobody stays up long enough to cash the check. dricus though? he turns the cage into a dinner plate and lets you hammer away—no complaint, no stumble. that’s the pivot. guys used to lose on body shots; dricus loses on flying knees. same punch, different zip code. and the angles he escapes with? you’d swear gravity gave him a tax refund mid-fight. feels like watching that same wand magic trick, only the internet streams it so everyone can squint at the replay for an hour afterward trying to work out how the hell he did it. ah well, we'll see.

Yo, mate—ever seen two lions squaring up in the same cage but only one of them’s actually won the pride’s respect yet? 🦁💥 Dricus struts in like he’s already bought the championship belts in bulk, Adesanya still gotta prove he ain’t just a fancy striking mannequin with a glass jaw museum pass. Cageside_Life, you’re pointing at Yoel 2019 like that’s some sacred tablet—sweet jesus, that bloke’s chin looked like a sieve before he even weighed in! Five-round decision after five-round decision? That’s not a chin check, that’s roadwork with oxygen! 😱 And Whittaker? Yeah, Adesanya tagged him, then Adesanya got dropped by a body shot cos Whittaker’s a middleweight contender, not a muay thai shawarma stand! Jan Blachowicz at UFC 253? Three knockdowns on the legs, then lost on points—tells you everything you need to know about Ish’s “glass” 🥛🔨 Meanwhile Dricus in 2022—Whittaker hammers him three times in round two and our guy pops up mid-complaint like he’s late for a dinner date! Pereira in 2024? Body shots that’d fold a heavyweight, Dricus answers with a flying knee off the cage like it’s nbd! The dude’s chin reads “luxury suite with meal included” 🪑🍽️ Yoel Romero didn’t just get dropped, he got dismissed like a chump who turned up to the wrong weigh-in! And let’s talk angles—ZoeUltra, you nailed it, the bloke exits every bad spot at 45 degrees like gravity just gave him a GPS recalc 🧭💨 Wanderlei Silva vibes? Nah mate, Dricus is the upgrade package: more muscle, less explanation, same unkillable spirit! As for the whole “72 strikes” fairytale? Adesanya’s clinch-and-ground volume is like counting calories on a chocolate bar—yeah, you logged ‘em all, but you still gained weight cos the quality’s what matters! Dricus lands the right dozen and you’re writing your last will and testament mid-combo 📜💀 I’ll take the bloke who answers body shots with a flying knee over the bloke who needs a calculator to work out his damage output any day of the week. Ah well, we’ll see, but right now? Our man’s the one walking out with the belt-shaped grin 🏆😈

ever find yourself in newcastle arms trying to explain to some random who reckons 50 kicks is a gameplan that adesanya just walks through fire like it's central heating and du plessis can't even take a gentle pat on the back without selling the fight… i’ve seen ducks walk straighter after a few pints than some of these clowns trying to tell me dricus’ chin’s on subscription remember when gaston bogues took the first fight with adesanya? glass jaw? yeah right—alesi was strolling around like he owned the place while gaston pinged him with everything under the sun and still couldn’t fold him. now dricus? the bloke gets popped three times in round two by whittaker in 2022 and then proceeds to finish the round with a spinning back kick off the cage like it’s a sunday afternoon kickabout

Two weeks ago I was up in Barrie coaching at a BJJ open mat, one of those brutal youth divisions where the kid who flops gets the armbar six times in a row. After the dust settled we all piled into the pub and the usual “who’s tougher, Adesanya or Du Plessis” debate flared up between two lads from different gyms. One of them—let’s call him Jake, he trains out of Rival—started quoting Yoel Romero like gospel, same old clip of Ish stumbling in 2019. I poured him a pint and slid the Whit22 fight across his phone: three cracks to the body in round two, Dricus pops back up mid-takedown shrug, finishes the stanza with a spinning wheel off the cage and walks to his corner like he just checked the fridge for snacks. Jake blinked, re-wound, blinked again. “That’s not taking body shots,” he muttered. “That’s refusing delivery.” Then there’s the angles. Wanderlei’s old trick—duck under, pivot 45, plant the knee—looked flashy because we’d never seen it chained like a metronome. Dricus cranks it up a notch: he’ll sprawl three times, catch a leg kick, and exit toward the 3pm or 9pm mark so his opponent has to guess which way the earth tilted mid-swing. You can slow it down frame by frame and still watch his hips angle away while the punches land. That motion isn’t just slick; it’s physics textbook with a southpaw battering ram on top. Adesanya’s prime volume numbers—64.6 total strikes every twelve minutes—sound scary until you realize 40% came inside the clinch or on the mat. Volume counts, sure, but Dricus doesn’t need a spreadsheet to decide when to pivot; he lands the right twelve and you’re sleeping through the aftermath. The difference isn’t reps, it’s the address: Dricus mails his damage downtown, Adesanya kept running a distribution depot. So we kept swapping fighters until the bartender shut us down. The punchline stayed the same: each man brings a receipt, and the jury’s still out which one cashes the most checks.