Israel Adesanya may get involved in some trash talk, but his rivalry with Dricus du Plessis has gotten extremely personal ahead of UFC 305 on August 17 in Perth, Australia.
Adesanya, a two-time former UFC middleweight champion, returns to action for the first time in over a year to face du Plessis for the title in Perth. It is a fight years in the making, starting from comments du Plessis made regarding his opponent's validity.
Adesanya, the New Zealander born in Nigeria, took exception when du Plessis said he is the first fighter who lives and trains in Africa to hold a UFC belt, following championship runs of Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Nganmou.
Things then heated up at the UFC 305 press conference when Adesanya was asked if he would take the title back to Africa if he beat du Plessis.
WATCH: UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya, exclusively on ESPN+
“On Tuesday, I’m going back to Nigeria,” Adesanya said. “I think Friday I’m going to South Africa, and then the next week I’m going back to New Zealand. I am a child of the earth, and when I take this belt, I’m taking it everywhere with me.”
Du Plessis, who gets under the skin of fighters at press conferences, including the controversial Sean Strickland, followed up on the question. “Are you taking the servants with you when you’re going back?” That is a reference to a resurfaced ESPN profile piece on Adesanya from 2020, where he discussed not knowing how to bathe himself until he was eight following the use of “domestic servants.”
A normally jovial Adesanya did not take kindly to those comments.
“What the f--- are you even on about?,” Adesanya said.“Bro, shut the f--- up. You don’t know anything about my story. You have no idea who the f--- I am. Listen, my father and myself had to wake up at 4 a.m. and clean the banks while my mom studies to be a nurse. You don’t know my f------ story. Don’t f------ speak of my story if you don’t know my story. I will show you who you are Sunday, so right now, shut the f--- up!”
MORE: UFC 305: Dricus Du Plessis explains why Israel Adesanya lost to Sean Strickland
“You couldn’t even respect the people of the land. Welcome to country. You were the one not even doing anything. I took my shoes off to connect with the people, with the mob. What did you do? You stand there and try to mean-mug me. Are you stupid? I’m not your f------ man, b----!”
During Adesanya’s speech, du Plessis repeatedly stated he didn’t care about his story. A visibly emotional Adesanya carried on through the press conference, still clearly agitated by du Plessis’ recent comments.
Later on, when talking about his emotions heading into the fight, Adesanya burst into tears and kept it authentic with the fans in attendance.
“He touched a subject there because I do this for my family,” Adesanya said. “I do this for the people I love, and I will fight for you forever. I swear to God. Look, I’m a f------ human being. I’m a man. I can cry and whoop your a-- at the same time.
"I feel the love from the crowd. First time I fought here, (UFC) 221, that was February 2018. That was me making my dream come true. Sunday, I’m going to f------ kill your dreams, b----. I’m going to f------ kill your dreams.”
UFC CEO Dana White recently brought up the idea of a UFC South Africa event if du Plessis beats Adesanya. A win by the latter, who would become a three-division champion, could change those plans.