Israel Adesanya clearly has some animosity pent up toward Dricus Du Plessis , but he struggles to put their feud on the same level of his other most notable career rivalries ahead of UFC 305 . The genesis of the beef between Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and current middleweight champion Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who meet in the Aug. 17 headliner at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia ( ESPN+ pay-per-view , ESPN, ESPN+), is far from a secret at this point. Adesanya was rubbed the wrong way when, while he was a sitting UFC champion alongside Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman, his upcoming opponent Du Plessis was vocal about how when the day came for his turn with the belt, he would take pride in being the first fighter to hold a UFC title while living and training in an African country.
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