The fierce rivalry between UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and challenger Israel Adesanya reaches new heights. As if there wasn’t substantial history before, they found a renewed passion for hate. The duo will top off the main event of UFC 305: Du Plessis cs. Adesanya, on August 17, RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. They attended an on-sales presser recently.
No topics were off-limits, from the weirdly passionate interactions and cultural appropriation with coach Morne Visser to Izzy’s monumental upset loss at UFC 293. Speaking to Denis Shkuratov of Submission Radio YT, Du Plessis iterated how Israel Adesanya’s heart isn’t in the game. Backstage, though, he also took shots at his physical demeanor.
He’s shorter than I thought, so that makes it worse for him because I’m a thick boy.
Dricus Du Plessis reacts backstage after the UFC 305 on-sale kickoff conference (H/T: bloodyelbow.com)
Dricus Du Plessis has always remained intrigued by the possibility of handling big names like Izzy in his prime. Break an egg or two to make an omelet kind of situation. He drew Israel Adesanya when the duo had an intense interaction at UFC 290. Now, DDP thinks he can prove himself a more stylistic threat as well.
It is a big thing, as the 34-year-old Kiwi is supposedly three inches taller. While ‘Stylebender’ attempted to gain traction by reiterating the origin of the three original African champs, fans thought Du Plessis managed to turn the tide. Izzy seemed out of his element; if it also happens that he is plump and shorter, the berserk striking bursts can prove tough from Du Plessis’ end.
Israel Adesanya presents a counter to short claims from Dricus Du Plessis
After Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis clashed over the “True African” champ narrative, Izzy wasn’t calming down. He appeared on the Down Under’s morning The Today Show to vent his frustrations. The former middleweight champion demanded due respect from ‘Stilllnocks’ for paving the way.
Israel Adesanya is ready to come full circle at UFC 305 (Source: X/Instagram)While Izzy was busy dealing with semantics, Du Plessis won the hearts of fans with his quippy allure. The South African billed him shorter than expected after their initial faceoff at the kick-off conference for the UFC 305 headliner. Even fans noticed how they were almost eye-to-eye. To his credit, Izzy later took to social media to point out that the rival was wearing pumps.
Now, Adesanya is fixated on a spectacular return; he accordingly debunks rumors of being plump and shorter than before. There’s a prime difference between the hungry contender Izzy and champ Izzy. Take his scraps with Robert Whittaker as a prime example of that. Considering the heated aspect of the rivalry, the height doesn’t matter, as the one walking away with the belt will have all the bragging rights.
