Dricus Du Plessis: Israel Adesanya’s Fire Is Nothing Compared to Mine

At UFC 305, Dricus Du Plessis will attempt to defend his UFC middleweight title for the first time. He will face a man who dominated the division as champion for years, Israel Adesanya.

Du Plessis and Adesanya have traded barbs for years now. ‘Stillknocks’ even admits that he doesn’t like Adesanya and will surely be relishing the opportunity to earn a victory against ‘The Last Stylebender’.

“If I’m in his head, I can’t tell you.  He feels the energy.  I can tell you that much,” Du Plessis told SHAK MMA (H/T MMA Weekly).  “I made the statement that his fire is gone, and I don’t believe that.  I think the fire is still there.  I just believe my fire is just; his fire is insignificant to mine.  

“The passion and fire that I have in me, the passion burning, is overshadowing his.  That’s why I can’t even see his fire, and I can’t feel it because the fire burning inside of me is so intense,” Dricus Du Plessis stated.  “Do I think I’m in his head?  Maybe not, but I do know that he’s in his own head.  That’s for sure.”

Dricus Du Plessis doubts Israel Adesanya’s motivation

Obviously, Du Plessis firmly believes that his inner fire is just simply superior to that of the former champion Israel Adesanya. It has been a long time since the MMA world witnessed Adesanya in action. He last fought at UFC 293 and suffered a frustrating loss via unanimous decision at the hands of the scandalous Sean Strickland.

Since then, Adesanya has taken some seemingly much-needed time off and now has the opportunity to re-capture his lost title. The stylistic matchup between the two men is very interesting. Many would give Du Plessis the grappling edge, but only time will tell if the South African champion will be able to utilize this advantage.

Who do you think walks away victorious between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya at UFC 305?