UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis questions Israel Adesanya’s passion for MMA ahead of middleweight title bout in Perth

At a surface level, sporting history is defined by iconic moments.

Digging deeper into a sport will reveal the ins and outs of how things came to be, but the singular moments and results are what people remember.

Last year, Israel Adesanya etched his name into the tapestry of the UFC when he knocked Alex Pereira out in the second round of their clash for the UFC middleweight championship.

It was another big win in a hall-of-fame calibre career; Adesanya revelling in finally beating the heavy-hitting Brazilian in his fourth attempt across mixed martial arts and kickboxing, and doing so in emphatic fashion. But his celebration of firing three arrows into his fallen foe after the fact pushed the moment into the territory of the iconic.

It was also the moment in which reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, 30, believes Adesanya’s fire for MMA dimmed.

“It all comes down to how much you’re enjoying this life. Being a fighter, if you don’t enjoy this, if you don’t have the passion for the sport, you’re in the wrong game,” du Plessis told the Herald.

“If you’re in it for financial gain, he’s checked that off the list, and if you’re in it to make history, his legacy has been set. What he has done in the sport has been set.

“I believe the biggest thing for Israel Adesanya, his biggest goal was never to be the greatest, his biggest goal was to beat Alex Pereira, and once he beat Alex Pereira, that was the last tick for him in his whole career. I believe that was the height of his whole combat sports career.”

Adesanya (24-3; 13-3 UFC) and du Plessis (21-2; 7-0 UFC) will meet in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth on August 18 with the middleweight title on the line; Adesanya looking to become the promotion’s first three-time middleweight champion while du Plessis is looking for his first successful title defence.

Earlier this month, they met at the press conference in Perth to promote the bout and tickets going on sale, and neither gave an inch when the time came to face off.

An exercise that usually lasts a few seconds, the pair were locked in; staring at one another for well over a minute – despite the best efforts of UFC Vice President Australia and New Zealand Peter Kloczko to break it up - before ultimately making their way off the stage.

Du Plessis, who claimed the title with a split decision win over Sean Strickland in Toronto in January, felt the exercise revealed a shift in Adesanya.

“I’ve been studying this man for a very long time and I guess there was a demeanour shift in his personality as a whole,” du Plessis said.

“Maybe you can call it maturity in his career; he’s seen it all, done it all. The press conference, the media stuff, all of this surrounding this fight doesn’t get him excited anymore.

“But at the end of the day, I feel that’s anybody’s downfall. When you stop getting excited about this, that’s a dangerous area because you’re fighting a guy in myself who is excited for every single aspect about this fight.

“I have that fire burning. Every single thing about this fight gets me excited. Every single thing about this fight is something that gets my heart racing. It gets me up every single morning, it fuels me [in] that last round, it fuels me to go a little harder, to go a little bit extra.

“I think that’s going to be the biggest difference in our fight and it’s going to be evident on the night.”

UFC 305

RAC Arena, Perth. Sunday, August 18.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.