Israel Adesanya shockingly breaks into tears at UFC 305 news conference

Du Plessis expressed little remorse for causing his opponent to break down while looking over at Adesanya and shaking his head. The argument has been a known touchy subject throughout the build-up to the fight but the emotions it caused the former middleweight champion may have been surprising to some until he wore those emotions on his sleeves in front of the crowd in Perth.

The ethnical debate between Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya

While the bad blood between Du Plessis and Adesanya is evidently still present, the tension between the two was at an all-time high in 2023 before their path toward a fight was interrupted by Sean Strickland.

Before Du Plessis became the champion, he was rising through the ranks and the fighter looking to get the attention of Adesanya, who then held the belt. As a native and resident of Pretoria, South Africa, Du Plessis said he wanted to become the first "real" African UFC champion who "lives and breathes" African air.

While Du Plessis recognizes Adesanya's Nigerian descent, he feels he is a better representative for the continent due to the latter fighter's family's decision to leave Africa for New Zealand decades ago. Understandably, the 35-year-old Adesanya took offense to the sentiment. Adesanya also appeared to be upset by Du Plessis' seeming dismissal of Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman's previous title reigns, both of whom are also of African descent.

The heat of the debate has gotten uglier by the day and will only be settled in the Octagon with the UFC middleweight title on the line.