Dricus du Plessis throws shade at Israel Adesanya ahead of UFC 305: "I don't see the fire in him"
Dricus du Plessis recently took an aim at Israel Adesanya ahead of their highly anticipated middleweight title fight at UFC 305 this Saturday. The bout is a year in the making as they were initially linked to a bout last September, but it failed to materialize.
The rivalry between them has become personal as the challenger has taken issue with the champion's past comments, while 'Stillknocks' has dismissed 'Izzy's motivation to compete. They have both made comments about each other throughout their media rounds and will likely continue that during their pre-fight press conference.
While speaking to the New York Post Sports, Du Plessis answered what he would do if he was his opponent. The reigning UFC middleweight champion took a jibe at Adesanya by urging him to pull out of the fight and believes that he is a lot more motivated than the challenger. He said:
"If I was in [Adesanya's] shoes I'd find a way to pull out of this fight...I'm feeling the best I've ever felt...In all honesty, to go and say he doesn't have to fire. I think the fire might be there, but it's just too small. My fire is just shattering his fire. Maybe that's why I don't see the fire in him, it's because the fire in me. The fire burning inside of me is just overshadowing his, and I think that's where my opinion comes from."
Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below:
When is the UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya pre-fight press conference?
Fans in North America will need to make an adjustment if they hope to watch the UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya pre-fight press conference live.
The promotion released their fight week schedule, which includes the pre-fight press conference, open workouts and ceremonial weigh-ins. The pre-fight press conference is scheduled to take place this Friday, Aug. 16. at 4pm local time in Perth, Australia, which converts to 4am ET / 1am PT that same day.
Check out the fight week schedule for UFC 305 below: