Israel Adesanya issues cold warning to Dricus du Plessis ahead of UFC 305 clash, 'Stillknocks' responds: "The talk is over"
Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis exchanged their last warnings before clashing in the UFC 305 main event.
On Saturday, Aug. 17, UFC 305 goes down inside the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The pay-per-view event is headlined by Du Plessis' first middleweight title defense, as he looks to shut down former champion Adesanya.
Adesanya and Du Plessis have established an intense rivalry over the past seven months, adding more anticipation for their five-round matchup. On Friday, the two fighters came face-to-face at the ceremonial weigh-ins for the final time before meeting in the Octagon.
Following their intense faceoff, both fighters joined Jon Anik to send each other a public message. Adesanya started by saying:
"Thank you, thank you for being here. I have missed this. I will miss this, but when I aim between your eyes, I will not f*cking miss."
Du Plessis followed up with this response:
"I can't wait, the talk is over. We saw what happened to the last man who acted like he's pointing a gun at me. He's called Sean Strickland."
Many people doubted Dricus du Plessis since his UFC debut in October 2020. Since then, the South African-born middleweight has silenced the doubters with seven consecutive wins, including former champions Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland. He now looks to add Israel Adesanya to his growing resume.
Watch the post-faceoff comments from Adesanya and Du Plessis below:
Sean Strickland would be keeping close eye on UFC 305 main event between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya
In September 2023, Sean Strickland shockingly defeated Israel Adesanya by unanimous decision for the UFC middleweight world title. Four months later, Strickland attempted to defend his throne for the first time, coming up short due to a split decision defeat against Dricus du Plessis.
At UFC 302, Strickland bounced back with a split decision win against Paulo Costa. Following his dominant performance, the former middleweight king declared he would wait to ensure his next fight is for UFC gold.
Earlier this week, Dana White did an interview with Jim Rome, where he was asked if Strickland is the number one contender. The UFC CEO claimed that 'Tarzan' will fight the winner of Du Plessis vs Adesanya, guaranteeing an intriguing rematch regardless of the result at UFC 305.