Israel Adesanya plans to remind Dricus du Plessis who paved the way for his success as South African: "You have to respect your elders"
Israel Adesanya recently opened up about his upcoming title fight against Dircus du Plessis at UFC 305 in Perth. The Nigerian-born Kiwi will be making a long-awaited return to the octagon and vowed to teach his rival a lesson in humility.
Adesanya will return to action after his last outing against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last September. Despite being favored to win the bout, Adesanya got dominated over five rounds and ultimately lost the UFC middleweight title to Strickland via unanimous decision. In the aftermath, Adesanya announced that he'd be taking an extended break from fighting.
Strickland was later defeated by du Plessis at UFC 297 earlier this year. Given the fierce rivalry between du Plessis and Adesanya, it's no surprise that 'The Last Stylebender' was booked against the South African for his highly anticipated return to action. The two have traded verbal jabs on social media and in interviews over du Plessis' comments on Adesanya's African heritage and the 'The Three Kings.'
During a recent interview with TODAY, Adesanya opened up about his plan for du Plessis and vowed to remind the reigning 185-pound champion to respect his "elders" as a South African. He said:
"Just beat him up, that's the main plan... Look, you have to honor those who came before you. He's the guy saying, 'I'm the real African champion.' But you wouldn't have been able to do what you're doing at home in South Africa if Francis Ngannou, and Kamaru [Usman] didn't pave the way for you. You have to respect your elders and I'll make sure I do that to him."
Catch Israel Adesanya's comments below (2:40):
Dricus du Plessis confident of a "banger" fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305
Dricus du Plessis believes his upcoming fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 will bring fireworks to Perth, Australia. The South African fighter recently shared his thoughts on the matchup and dismissed the possibility of a "boring" fight.
During an interview with Submission Radio, 'Stillknocks' opened up about his next title challenge and spoke about wanting to secure a finish. Stating that he's looking to "prove a point" at UFC 305, du Plessis said:
"I have no doubt in my mind that this fight is going to be an absolute banger of a fight... When you’re in that octagon with me, there’s no way it’s a boring fight because I will be coming and trying to take your head off for 25 minutes... At the end of the day, I’m coming to finish, you know, I didn’t get a finish in my last fight... I’m coming to finish. I’m coming to prove a point, and I’m coming to do it in spectacular fashion.” [H/T BJPenn.com]
Watch Dricus du Plessis' full interview below: