UFC 305: 'I want to kill your dreams,' tearful Israel Adesanya tells Dricus du Plessis
Published 16/08/2024 at 12:42 GMT
The wait is almost over to see whether Israel Adesanya or middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis will back up their epic war of words. Adesanya wore his heart on his sleeve during the pre-fight press conference on Friday, vowing to take Du Plessis' belt to the champion's home country. Du Plessis once again reiterated his claim to be the first residing African to become UFC champion.
Tense scenes as Adesanya and Du Plessis face-off ahead of UFC 305
A tearful Israel Adesanya vowed to UFC 305 main event opponent Dricus du Plessis that he would “kill” his “dreams” in a heated pre-fight press conference.
The highly-anticipated middleweight title clash sees the two African-born men face off on Sunday, August 18 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia live on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+.
In a long-running war of words between the pair, South Africa’s Du Plessis reiterated his claim to be the first residing African champion in the UFC.
With Kamaru Usman, Francis Ngannou and Lagos-born Adesanya all training overseas, Du Plessis hit a nerve by doubling down on his declaration in Friday’s press conference.
“He touched a subject there, because I do this for my family,” a tearful Adesanya responded. “I do this for the people I love, and I’ll fight for you forever – I swear to God.
“Watch this, look: I’m a human being, I’m a man. I can cry and whoop your ass at the same time.
“I feel the love from the crowd. First time I fought here [was UFC 221], that was February 2018. That was me making my dream come true.
“Sunday, I’m going to f***ing kill your dreams, b***h. I want to kill your dreams.”
Adesanya quickly wiped his eyes before storming off stage at the conclusion of the conference.
And the expletives were flying earlier on, with Adesanya laying out his post-bout plans to return to Nigeria, where he grew up until moving to New Zealand as a 10-year-old.
The 35-year-old mentioned subsequently heading to Du Plessis’ home nation of South Africa, before landing back in New Zealand.
Adesanya sends warning to Du Plessis - ‘I want to show you guys how great I am’
“I’m a child of the earth and when I take this belt, I’m taking it everywhere with me,” promised Adesanya.
“Are you taking the servants with you when you’re going back?” interjected Du Plessis, in reference to Adesanya admitting domestic servants used to bathe him until age 8.
To which Adesanya replied, “bro, shut the f*** up, you don’t even know anything about my story. You have no idea who the f*** I am”.
“My father and myself had to wake up at 4am and clean the banks, while my mum studied to be a nurse. You don’t know my f****** story. I will show you who you are Sunday, so right now, shut the f*** up,” added a tearful Adesanya.
Du Plessis snapped back: “I can’t wait. I am the first residing African [champion]. You’ll never change that, you can’t change that, impossible. You can’t change those facts.”
Tense scenes as Adesanya and Du Plessis face-off ahead of UFC 305
Du Plessis still holds a perfect UFC record of seven straight wins, including five finishes.
The 30-year-old beat Robert Whittaker by TKO at UFC 290 to become the number one title challenger, and squared up to Adesanya in a heated confrontation afterwards.
It has been 13 months since that altercation, and the wait is almost over to see who will back up their long-running war of words.
Watch UFC 305 and cards throughout the year live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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