Dricus Du Plessis: Israel Adesanya acted ‘like a clown’ at UFC 290

Dricus Du Plessis: Israel Adesanya acted ‘like a clown’ at UFC 290

At UFC 290, Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya engaged in a wild faceoff filled with trash talk. The South African was not fond of how the UFC middleweight champion handled himself.

Du Plessis voiced his opinion at the UFC 290 post-fight press conference.

“He’s behaving like a clown in there,” Du Plessis said. “That’s not how a champion behaves. That’s not how a man behaves. He’s behaving like a child. Conduct yourself like a champion. There’s people looking up to you, and you’re behaving like that? Nah.”

The Du Plessis-Adesanya interaction came after the former earned a second-round knockout over Robert Whittaker. The bout served as a No. 1 contender’s match and Du Plessis is now staring down a title shot. The faceoff between the champion and the subsequent title challenger was done to help spark interest in the next title bout.

“If that sells tickets, good for him. I’ll sell tickets my way. I’m a gentleman. I’m a man. And I’ll behave like a man.” Du Plessis said.

The relationship between Du Plessis and Adesanya has hit a clear breaking point. The beef originates from Du Plessis calling himself “the African fighter in the UFC.” Du Plessis made the point that he was born in Africa and still trains in the continent while other fighters live overseas. Those comments sparked backlash from Adesanya and other African-born fighters.

Needless to say, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Du Plessis and Adesanya will only engage in more trash talk in the lead-up to their fight. I imagine this will only get spicier, too. Adesanya was more than willing to taunt Alex Pereira’s son — I can’t imagine that he would back down from trash talk with Du Plessis.

In all likelihood, Adesanya will attempt to defend the UFC middleweight title against Du Plessis at UFC 293. The card is set to take place in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 9. The card is in need of a main event and Adesanya, who is one of the biggest stars of Oceanic MMA, would fill that role.

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