UFC 305: Adesanya, du Plessis open up on rivalry
Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis revealed the origins of their rivalry at the latest UFC 305 press conference on Wednesday.
The duo had been waging a war of words long before their middleweight fight was scheduled for in main event in Australia this August.
At the ticket announcement event in Perth, Adesanya spoke about where it all began.
“We’ve had history, over the years,” explained the Nigerian-born Kiwi.
“He tried to discredit the Three Kings and say that he’s the real true African champion. And I was just, like, it’s a weird mindset, bro.
“Like he came in UFC, I knew who he was a little bit, but I didn’t go, ‘Oh, who the f*** is this fake dude coming in?’ I just said, ‘Cool, he’s another African in UFC.’
“But, then him discrediting me, Francis Ngannou, and Kamaru Usman, that ticked me off a little bit.
“So that’s what started this. But again, I’ll finish it.”
Du Plessis plays down rivalry with Adesanya
In response, du Plessis was surprisingly sedate.
The South African declared that “there’s no tension” on his part, before going on to emphasise that fighting is all business for him.
He did push back on Adesanya’s African champion comments, however.
“Where do I reside? What’s my postal code? Where do I train? Where do I live? Where was I born?” du Plessis asked.
“In South Africa. Still there, still training. I won this belt from South Africa, I didn’t travel anywhere else. That was the only thing that I stated.
“So, I never discredited anybody, but quite frankly, I don’t really care about how it rubbed him the wrong way.”
The UFC 305 press conference concluded with a menacing staredown that lasted a few minutes.
Du Plessis the underdog in early UFC 305 betting
The Adesanya vs du Plessis odds are out, and the prices might surprise some punters.
Du Plessis will be defending his UFC middleweight belt in this fight, but he has been labelled the underdog with odds of +120 at BetOnline.
Adesanya has been assigned shorter odds at UFC bookmakers, with a victory for the Kiwi priced at -136.99.
The fight will take place in Perth, Australia, where both fighters can expect strong support.
Adesanya will appeal to the large New Zealand expat population living in Western Australia, while the local South African community will cheer for du Plessis.
