ISRAEL ADESANYA was on course to headline UFC 300, his team-mate Dan Hooker has claimed.
MMA's top promotion recently announced the main event for their April 13 card but were struggling to finalise a showpiece bout for the show just a few weeks ago.
The UFC brass explored the possibility of a grudge match between Adesanya and new middleweight king Dricus Du Plessis headlining the event.
Adesanya and his team began a training camp for the historic show, so much so that Hooker was convinced he was set to top the bill of the Sin City extravaganza.
He told Sky Sports New Zealand: "I want Dana to come out and say that what had all gone on behind the scenes.
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"Because as far as I knew, like, Israel was stepping up to fight in that 300 slot."
Du Plessis prised the middleweight title from the clutches of Sean Strickland in January but revealed to SunSport that he'd be open to performing a quick turnaround to top the UFC 300 bill.
The UFC, however, ultimately decided on having a light-heavyweight showdown between champion Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill headline the card.
And Hooker believes some niggling injuries to Du Plessis may have forced the UFC to go with Pereira vs Hill.
He said: "I feel like Dricus, like, that was going to be a big ask after the five rounds he had with Strickland.
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"He took a lot of damage in that Strickland fight.
"And yeah, you can, like, he turned the title fight before.
"He was supposed to fight Israel in Sydney when he fought Strickland, but he had like a niggle, he had an injury, and he wasn't prepared to that risk."
Former two-time middleweight king Adesanya hasn't set foot inside the octagon since losing the title to Strickland last September.
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But Hooker believes it won't be too long before fans see 'The Last Stylebender' back in action.
The Kiwi said: "He's continued to stay in the gym and stay healthy and stay training very hard.
"So I would anticipate him getting another fight booked pretty soon, you know."
