The recent post-UFC 287 press conference saw the UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, express his disdain for comments made by Dricus Du Plessis, a South Africa native and fellow UFC middleweight. Without mentioning Du Plessis by name, Adesanya made it clear that he was the target of his frustrations.

The latter had claimed that he was a more authentic African than Adesanya and the “Three Kings,” which includes Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman. Usman, who used to train with Du Plessis, warned him to choose his words carefully while discussing ethnicity. Adesanya echoed this sentiment and expressed his desire to teach Du Plessis a physical lesson.

Adesanya stated that he did not want to give Du Plessis any publicity by mentioning his name, but instead, he wanted to beat him up in South Africa or Nigeria. However, Adesanya demanded Du Plessis to put in some work to prove himself worthy of being his opponent.

Adesanya believes that Du Plessis needs to choose his words wisely when referring to established athletes who paved the way for him. In addition, Adesanya said that he wanted to be with the big boys, but he would not give anyone clout without a reason, indicating that he was ready to take on Du Plessis if he keeps winning.

Du Plessis earned his fifth consecutive win by stopping Derek Brunson at UFC 285 and has asked for a title eliminator or title shot in his next fight. Dana White, the president of UFC, has indicated interest in hosting an event in Africa, but the promotion could not make use of Adesanya, Ngannou, and Usman while they still held titles with the promotion.

Adesanya resides in New Zealand, but he regularly represents his home nation of Nigeria and speaks in his native tongue during press conferences. Although he has not named his next opponent yet, Du Plessis seems to have offered himself as a storyline for the new champion.

Du Plessis did not hesitate to mention Adesanya by name on social media as he claimed to have the support of an entire continent. He also challenged Adesanya to face him on neutral ground and vowed to take the champion’s belt home to Africa. Du Plessis claimed that Africa fears nothing and nobody, and he was ready to face Adesanya on his home soil of Africa.