ISRAEL ADESANYA AND DRICUS DU PLESSIS HAVE TO BE SEPARATED AFTER 'LONGEST FACEOFF IN UFC HISTORY'

•  Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis have heated staredown
•  Pair go nose-to-nose for 90 seconds before being separated 
•  Du Plessis will defend his title against Adesanya in Perth

Tensions threatened to boil over during the first staredown between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis ahead of their eagerly awaited middleweight championship bout in Perth.

South African superstar Du Plessis will defend his strap against the former champ in the main event of UFC 305 at RAC Arena on Aug. 18.

If Adesanya can reclaim his title, he will become the first three-time middleweight champion in the history of the UFC.

The fierce rivals took questions from the media at Tuesday's press event before having an extended staredown that went for approximately 90 seconds. 

'Did Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis just have the longest faceoff in UFC history?' posted a prominent MMA account on X.

The pair have a long-running rivalry and have fired shots at each other in the past - and Adesanya raised the topic on Wednesday.

'We've had history, over the years,' Adesanya said. 

'It's almost like destiny because we met in Thailand, Tiger Muay Thai back in the day. Had a little little play around, and funny enough, here we are again. It's like full circle, back where it all started for me. 

 'Again, he tried to discredit the Three Kings and say that he's the real true African champion. And I was just, like, it's a weird mindset, bro.'

'Like he came in the UFC, I knew who he was a little bit, but I didn't go, 'Oh, who the f— is this fake dude coming in?' I just said, 'Cool, he's another African in the UFC.' 

'But then him discrediting me, Francis Ngannou, and Kamaru Usman, that ticked me off a little bit. So that's what started this. But again, I'll finish it.'

Du Plessis denied he'd discredited Adesanya and explained that there was no tension for him when stepping in the Octagon.

'I get into the Octagon, and I do my job. I do my business. You can be the biggest a..hole in the world, you can be the nicest guy in the world, I'm going out there to kill you and I hope you're doing the same to me because otherwise it's not going to be a good night for you,' he said.

'As far as discrediting, I've never discredited anybody. Stating fact, where do I reside? What's my postal code? Where do I train? Where do I live? Where was I born? In South Africa. I'm still there, still training and I won this belt from South Africa.

'Quite frankly I don't care how it rubbed him off the wrong way, I don't care.'

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2024-07-03T06:38:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd