UFC: Israel Adesanya blasts Dricus du Plessis on discrediting Usman and Ngannou's African status

Nigerian UFC fighter Israel Adesanya has discovered peace when playing barefoot golf, yet he gets hot under the collar just by talking about middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.

On August 18, Adesanya and du Plessis will square off for the middleweight title at Perth's RAC Arena.

The two are sworn enemies, with Adesanya still incensed over past remarks made by du Plessis, in which the South African stated that he aspired to be the "first real African champ".

Adesanya, a two-time UFC champion who was raised primarily in New Zealand but was born in Nigeria, took issue at the comment, pointing out that he was one of several African champions already.

At a heated news conference in Perth on Wednesday, the 34-year-old confronted du Plessis face-to-face and expressed his views.

He said, "He tried to discredit three kings and say he's the real true African champion.

"It's a weird mindset. He came into UFC, I knew who he was a little bit. But I didn't go, 'Who the f*** is this fake dude coming in?'

"I just said, 'Cool, there's another African in the UFC'.

"But for him to discredit me, Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman, that ticked me off a little bit.

"That's what started this, but again I'll finish it."

Du Plessis clarified what he meant by his previous comments but Adesanya said he would show him where he comes from.

The South African then said he will Adesanya back to the golf course.

After Adesanya had talked kindly about how golf had helped him decompress during his 11-month sabbatical from UFC competition, he made the joke.

Adesanya's regimen which saw him fight five times in eighteen months had left him exhausted; nonetheless, he felt rejuvenated and ready to go after taking a break from the sport.

Following the press briefing, Adesanya and du Plessis locked a heated, eighty-second staredown that organizers had to break up.