The build-up to the UFC 305 middleweight title clash between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis has taken a strange turn! At UFC 297, Du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland and became the first UFC champion from South Africa. But his remarks about being an “African champion” rubbed Adesanya the wrong way and led to a lot of heat between the two.

While Du Plessis later clarified to MMA Mania that, “I didn’t say they were not African”, the damage had been done and barbs began to fly. Now, at the UFC 305 media day, ‘Stillknocks’ came out to make a request to his rival to put an end to his social media antics that have become “weird”.

Dricus Du Plessis wants Israel Adesanya to stop being “weird” on the internet

As one of the ‘3 Kings’ in the UFC, when Kamaru Usman, Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya all held titles at the same time in the promotion, ‘The Last Stylebender’ was incensed by Dricus Du Plessis’s remarks about what it means to be “…an African champion”. 

Speaking to TMZ Sports recently, Adesanya held nothing back as he confessed, “People like (Abdul Razak Alhassan) and myself who are forced to flee our own country because of a better opportunity, (Dricus will) never understand that because he lives behind the f***ing gates of his privileged life in South Africa….”

But that wasn’t the only shot thrown at Du Plessis as in a recent post on X, Adesanya shared a picture with the caption ‘So you’re telling me, you’re the real African champion…’. The image featured both ‘Stillknocks’ and Adesanya with circles highlighting their lower half.  At the UFC 305 media day, as Du Plessis was ending his part of the interview, he took the time to call out Adesanya’s actions by stating, “Can I just say, Israel stop searching for my willy on the internet, it’s weird. It’s very freaking weird man, c’mon.”

With the feud now getting more personal than ever before, it remains to be seen if the same energy will be seen inside the Octagon between the two. But if Du Plessis manages to hold on to his title, UFC boss Dana White has promised that South Africa will get a visit from the promotion!

Dana White ready to bring the show to South Africa if ‘Stillknocks’ wins at UFC 305  

The stakes have now been raised for the UFC 305 title clash between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis. Speaking at a recent press conference, Dana White highlighted the fact that the intense dislike between Du Plessis and Adesanya has made the upcoming event even more exciting for the fans. So how about adding a little added incentive for the defending champion?

The UFC boss did just that as he proclaimed, “If (Du Plessis) can beat Izzy and bring that belt back to South Africa, obviously we’ll do an event there.” In another part of the statement, White brought up the fact that with such a heated rivalry, “the fight usually ends up sucking” but he believes it may not be the case this time around. 

With UFC 305 set to be a battle not just for the belt but for pride, identity, and legacy, it remains to be seen if Dricus Du Plessis can deny Israel Adesanya’s attempts at regaining his crown. Do you think Israel Adesanya will be able to back-up his trash talk inside the Octagon? Or will ‘Stillknocks’ continue his reign atop the 185 lbs. division? Let us know in the comments below!