Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis have lit the fuse ahead of their UFC middleweight title bout in Perth next month.
The pair have been destined to meet inside the octagon for the past year and will finally throw down on Australian soil in the main event of UFC 305 on August 18.
Adesanya hasn’t fought since his loss to Sean Strickland last year in Sydney, but will step back into the proverbial lion’s den in a bid to reclaim the gold.
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Speaking at the official press conference on Wednesday, the 34-year-old explained why his time away from the cage has ‘reignited’ his love for MMA.
“This is the longest layoff of my fighting career,” Adesanya said.
“[I had] five fights in 18 months, not even as a fighter but as a champion. It’s just the fights themselves, it’s the camps and pressures of being the king of everything.
“It was good for me to remove myself from the game, enjoy life, I took up golf and slowed things down a little bit. Doing that makes me appreciate this a lot more.
“It kind of reignites that flame, taking the time off did that for me.”
Adesanya also pointed to some of his teammates joining the UFC and beginning their journey to the top of the sport as a factor in his decision to return.
However, his impending return to the UFC isn’t strictly business, with Adesanya admitting comments made by du Plessis last year “ticked him off”.
The current champion, who defeated the aforementioned Strickland in January, referred to himself as a ‘true African’ and questioned why the likes of Adesanya, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou had moved away from their home countries in pursuit of success.
“He tried to discredit the three kings and say that he is the real true African champion … it’s a weird mindset,” Adesanya said.
“He came into the UFC, I knew who he was a little bit, but I didn’t go ‘Who the f— is this fake dude’. I just thought it was cool there was another African in the UFC, but them him discrediting me, Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman ticked me off a little bit.
“That’s what started this, but I will finish it.”
Adesanya was born in Nigeria but moved to New Zealand at the age of 10 and has lived there ever since, becoming a focal point of the City Kickboxing gym that also claims the likes of Alexander Volkanovski and Dan Hooker.
Du Plessis denied that his intention was to take away from the steps taken by Adesanya and company to put Africa on the map, but claimed he would ‘retire’ the Nigerian star.
“I won this belt from South Africa, I didn’t travel anywhere else and that was the only thing that I stated,” he said.
“I’ve never discredited anybody and quite frankly, I don’t really care about how it rubbed him off the wrong way … I don’t care.
“I’m glad he took up golf because that’s his retirement sport.”
After trading barbs on the microphone, Adesanya and du Plessis engaged in a lengthy staredown on the stage, before being separated by UFC staff and security.
UFC 305 will also feature the likes of Steve Erceg, Kai Kara-France and Tai Tuivasa, with a clear Aussie and Kiwi feel to the pay-per-view card.