Israel Adesanya is certainly not going to be short on motivation heading into his middleweight title fight at UFC 305.
After the longest break of his fighting career, the former champion returns to try and reclaim the belt against his rival, Dricus Du Plessis.
There has been tension between the two men that stems back to last year when some comments from “Stillknocks” made this feud personal and intense.
Now, Du Plessis had added more fuel to the fire with his statements in interviews and the recent press conference, where he gave his feelings on Adesanya’s career.
Michael Bisping Says Dricus Du Plessis Is Motivating & Firing Up Israel Adesanya Ahead Of UFC 305
Despite their feud, Du Plessis has made it very clear that he has a lot of respect for everything that Adesanya has accomplished in his career.
The difference is that the current champion believes his next opponent is not the same man that he used to be anymore and his best days are behind him.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, former 185-pound champion Michael Bisping gave his reaction to the words between the two men at the press conference.
He believes that Du Plessis saying these things about Adesanya could end up backfiring by giving his opponent more venom ahead of their eventual meeting in Perth on August 17.
“That’s kind of harsh words for Israel Adesanya to hear and for Israel, that’s going to motivate him big time. That’s going to p*** him off, that’s going to grind his gears, that’s going to get in his head, that is going to force him to train his a** off, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see one of the most dangerous, nasty version of Israel Adesanya that we’ve seen.”
Adesanya’s return comes on Australian soil, where he was shockingly unseated by Sean Strickland last September in Sydney.
He’ll look to return to the throne inside Perth’s RAC Arena, where fellow Oceania-based fighters like Kai Kara-France, Steve Erceg, Junior Tafa, and Jack Jenkins will also be among those in action.
