The budding rivalry between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya reached a boiling point following the South African’s triumph over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 last summer.
In that moment, tensions flared when Adesanya entered the Octagon to confront Du Plessis, setting the stage for a future title bout between the two middleweights. Du Plessis had drawn Adesanya’s ire when he referred to himself as “the African fighter in the UFC” during a media day event in 2023, and that anger was reflected when the Nigerian-born Kiwi addressed Du Plessis in the cage that night.