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Israel Adesanya tearfully took umbrage with a claim by his opponent Dricus Du Plessis on Friday, ahead of the pair’s UFC 305 main event.
On Saturday (17 August), former two-time champion Adesanya will challenge Du Plessis for the middleweight title in Perth, Australia, as they look to settle a year-long grudge.
That grudge began when Du Plessis vowed to become the first “real African” UFC champion. The South African clarified that he meant the first not only to have been born in Africa but also to have trained there throughout his career.
Adesanya, born in Nigeria and representing New Zealand, took issue with that claim last summer in a heated face-to-face. And on Friday (16 August), the matter arose again at the UFC 305 pre-fight press conference.
“He touched a subject there, because I do this for my family,” Adesanya said tearfully. “I do this for the people I love, and I’ll fight for you forever – I swear to God,” he added, pointing at the front row.
“Watch this, look: I’m a human being, I’m a man. I can cry and whoop your ass at the same time.
“I feel the love from the crowd. First time I fought here [was UFC 221], that was February 2018, that was me making my dream come true. Sunday I’m gonna f***ing kill your dreams, b***h,” he told Du Plessis. “I want to kill your dreams.”
Adesanya then wiped tears from his eyes and quickly exited the stage, before returning for his face-off with Du Plessis.
Earlier in the press conference, Adesanya was asked whether he will bring the title back to Nigeria if he wins this weekend. The audience member asking the question also said “someone” had made the fight “about culture”.
Du Plessis acknowledged that comment, before Adesanya interjected: “Bro, shut the f*** up, you don’t even know anything about my story. You have no idea who the f*** I am.”
Again fighting back tears, the former champion said: “My father and myself had to wake up at 4am and clean the banks, while my mum studied to be a nurse. You don’t know my f***ing story. I will show you who you are Sunday, so right now, shut the f*** up.”
Du Plessis hit back: “The first residing African [champion], you can’t change that, impossible. You can’t change those facts.”
