Dricus du Plessis reflects on tense face-off with Israel Adesanya: “He's lost that hunger for the game”
Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya will go to war in a highly anticipated clash in the main event of UFC 305 in August. Ahead of their middleweight title fight, the pair attended a press conference in Australia, where the fight will be held.
After the conclusion of the Q&A with MMA media, the two fighters engaged in a tense face-off that extended over a minute. Given the length of time before fight night, their elongated face-to-face was a good indication of the tension simmering between the pair.
'Stillknocks' entered the promotion in 2020, and after securing five victories in a row, including four finishes, he was scheduled for a title eliminator bout with Robert Whittaker. Du Plessis stunned the MMA world when he handed Whittaker a second-round TKO loss.
The South African's comments about his desire to be the first "real African champion" in the UFC did not sit well with then-champion Adesanya, who directed some heated words at Du Plessis.
Tensions have yet to settle between them, and following their recent face-off, the middleweight champion reflected on the event, saying this:
"He's trying to convince himself that he still wants to be here. I'm just here to let him know that it's okay, it's over. Call it a day. Call it a career. He's shorter than I thought, So that makes it worse for him because I'm a thick boy... That's the feeling we do this for, getting that excitement. That's exactly what he's lacking. He's lost that hunger for the game."
Watch Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya reflect on their face-off below:
Robert Whittaker predicts Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya
Dricus du Plessis will defend his middleweight title for the first time against Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305 on Aug. 17.
'Stillknocks' narrowly defeated Sean Strickland at UFC 297 to become the first-ever South African UFC champion, and his clash with Adesanya will be watched across the Mother Continent, with 'The Last Stylebender' being born in Nigeria.
Robert Whittaker, a man who has lost to both fighters, recently shared his prediction for their title clash while talking to The Sporting News. He said this:
"Stylistically, this suits Dricus du Plessis quite well. I think the performance we saw displayed in his last fight, that level of pressure he put on Sean Strickland, he’ll use to great effect against Adesanya, especially when we saw Strickland use the same sort of thing against Adesanya when they fought. I’m going to lean towards Dricus."