Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis just gave an intense trailer to their octagon fight at UFC 305. Ahead of the fight, the duo gave each other a stare-down that could melt iron with the intensity and there was an intense presser as well. Both the fighters are busy doing interviews right now and one of those interviews had Du Plessis speaking about Alex Pereira and how ‘Poatan’ defeated Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303.

Just like Du Plessis, Pereira was once a middleweight champion, but then he shifted to the light heavyweight division to become the two-division champion in the promotion. Is the 30-year-old also heading on the same path?

Dricus Du Plessis points out the deadly power of Poatan

‘Stillknocks’ had started a rivalry with Adesanya by disregarding him as a fighter from Africa. This had not gone well with ‘The Last Stylebender’ and he lashed out with his own scathing words. However, it seems like Du Plessis only has compliments for his opponent’s rival Pereira. In the past, the fighter had challenged ‘Poatan’ by saying that he would “smoke his ass.” However, he has changed his verdict since then, albeit while “keeping an eye” on his division.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, the host asked Dricus du Plessis about the legacy he has to uphold and the one he created by winning in Middleweight against Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker. Along with that, he also asked about the legacy that was being made by the Brazilian fighter. Du Plessis acknowledged Pereira’s greatness saying, “That guy is an absolute beast and uh I’m a massive fan of Alex Pereira, The way he fights is I mean anybody in the world you can’t look at that guy, and go yeah no scary dude scary dude and you know looking at him at right now where I’m at of my career it’s not a concern for me yes I’m keeping an eye.”

So even though he admitted that Pereira is an “absolute monster,” and in three years he got himself a respectable position in the promotion and also secured his title on short notice, ‘Stillknocks’ is still alert. He keeps an eye on all categories and is looking forward to fighting in flyweight. However, right now, he is focusing on the middleweight bout against Adesanya. The stare-down between the two was intense enough to make the fans excited about the fight.

Dricus Du Plessis unaffected by his opponent’s words

The former middleweight champion has a rift with ‘Stillknocks’ and he was very upset when Du Plessis termed himself the first African champion in the UFC. The pair have been involved in offline and online feuds since then. This tension was crackling in the UFC 305 presser face-off. Du Plessis recently recounted the face-off and revealed, “I think he said don’t kiss me.”

Adesanya is adept at mind games, but the former is immune to that power and these tactics do not phase the 30-year-old. He claimed, “As far as I know, he said don’t go kissing man. I said I’m no dog so I won’t. And you know, I don’t know what he was saying. I wasn’t focused on what he was saying. I didn’t say anything, you know. I’m not here to say anything to him.”

Who do you think will win this fight at UFC 305? Drop your predictions in the comments below.