Just days after the intense staredown between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303, Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis gave the fans another one. The pair is about to fight at UFC 305 in August in Perth, where they will finally get to settle their beef. If the presser is the sign of things to come, then we are in for a fight for the ages at Perth. But things did not end at the presser. The beef continued after the press conference too, because neither of the fighters held back their comments. If it was their ethnicity before, it is now about their heights!

The official Instagram account of UFC Australia-New Zealand showed the comments from the duo after they faced off and both had pretty intense things to say. Du Plessis, after the press conference, announced, “He is trying to convince himself that he wants to be here. I’m just here to let him know it’s okay. It’s over. Call it a day, call it a career. He is shorter than I thought. So that makes it worse for him. Because I am a thick boy.”

On the same note, Adesanya was not quiet and decided to comment on the video, saying that Du Plessis, who stands 6’1″ tall, looked taller with some outside help. The former champion, who stands at 6’3” commented under the post, “He’s wearing pumps.”  Both the fighters are pretty tall and there is only a few inches difference between their heights. But this sport can be a game of inches and that could make all the difference on fight night.

Adesanya is a master at dictating range and using his attributes to edge past his opponents. Arguably his greatest adversary so far, Robert Whittaker, stood 6ft tall, like Du Plessis, with a 73.5″ reach. Du Plessis, stands an inch taller with a 76″ reach. Adesanya, who is 6’4″ with an 80″ reach, could use this to his advantage. The one time he fought someone who equaled his attributes was when he took on Alex Pereira, who matched him in height and reach and finished him for the first time in MMA.

The next guy to beat ‘The Last Stylebender,’ Sean Strickland, also had the same height and reach as Du Plessis. So don’t be surprised if you see the South African take a page out of Strickland’s book to tackle Adesanya. Meanwhile, the beef is already on even before they have entered the octagon. Even the UFC 305 face-off was intense in front of the media.

The rivalry commenced one year ago when Du Plessis decided to question his opponent’s belt and said, “Did those belts ever go to Africa?” The ‘Last Stylebender’ and ‘Stillknocks’ had an intense staredown after presser and even their answers to the reporters showed how dangerous the fight was going to be.

Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis reignite their tension

During the recent press conference, the reporters could not help but ask about the ongoing fight between the duo. The reporter asked about the “real African” feud between them. ‘Izzy’ responded by saying that DDP tried to discredit him, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou, as African champions.

Even Du Plessis was not silent, and the current middle-weight champion said that he had just stated the facts. He said that he was born, stayed, and even trained in Africa, which makes him African. ‘Stillknocks’ replied, “And as far as discrediting, never discredited anybody. Stating facts. Where do I reside? What’s my postal code? Where do I train? Where do I live, where was I born? In South Africa. Still there. Still training. And I want this belt from South Africa. I didn’t try anywhere else.”

However, as the presser went further, he was quick to put out the flames that he had created. Du Plessis declared that this would be the first time he would be fighting to defend his middleweight title, and he was also elated that this was the first time two Africans were headlining the event. He also declared that it was an honor for him to fight Adesanya, as he is one of the greatest middleweights in the MMA promotion. 

Even though the tension was subsided by these words, the new video has surely given more fuel to the fire. Do you think this tension will increase during the fight? Drop your views in the comments below.