According to the Nigerian living in New Zealand, he has a personal enmity towards South African native Dricus Du Plessis, who in an interview said that he would become “the first true African champion of the UFC.”
“I really want to kick his ass,” Adesanya was quoted as saying by MMAmania. “I would love to do it in South Africa or Nigeria, but it has to work. He must do something. Let him show me something, and then I will kick his ass and arrange a digression into history. ”
“He must choose his words carefully when speaking of the people who came before him and paved the way for him. I don’t want to blow his hype, but if he works – and I will pray that he continues to win – I will gladly drag his corpse through all of South Africa.
At one time, Du Plessis, answering a question about Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou, stated the following:
“I have no animosity towards any of the African champions. If their lives are better elsewhere, that’s good. They were born in Africa – this is their heritage and birthright. But to say that they are fighting for Africa, like me, and at the same time live in a different place, this, in my opinion, is window dressing and hypocrisy ”
“I feel that the fans know, understand and see that I will be the first true African UFC champion. I was born here, live here, and have never lived anywhere else. This is my home, South Africa is my homeland, Africa is my home continent – this is where I stand.”
Recall that last weekend at UFC 287 in Miami, Israel Adesanya regained the UFC middleweight championship belt by knocking out Alex Pereira in the second round, and Dricus Du Plessis won five straight victories in the organization and currently ranks sixth in the UFC middleweight rankings. .