Dricus du Plessis responds to bizarre Israel Adesanya tweet comparing male genitalia

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis raised his eyebrows at Israel Adesanya’s questionable pre-fight mental warfare.

Du Plessis will make his first middleweight title defense against Adesanya this Saturday at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. He returns to the Octagon after earning the belt by defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 back in January.

Adesanya returns to the cage after nearly a full year away from the Octagon, stemming from his loss to Strickland at UFC 293. Ahead of UFC 305, bad blood has boiled between himself and du Plessis.

UFC 305 fight week is underway in Perth, and the pre-fight mental warfare between the two sides has intensified ahead of fight night. But, things took a strange turn on social media on Tuesday.

Adesanya took an unusual approach to pre-fight trash talk, which you can view below.

Good morning everyone, except DDP. pic.twitter.com/yW3qrGik3d

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) August 14, 2024

“Good morning everyone, except DDP,” Adesanya tweeted Tuesday.

Dricus du Plessis cringes at Israel Adesanya’s genitalia comparisons

During a recent interview with Full Send MMA, du Plessis responded to Adesanya’s tweet.

“Oh wow, okay, well ‘Woof, woof’,” du Plessis said. “What a weird thing to do! I’ll just ask him ‘What’s that out?’. Was he talking about size? Take it as you may [LAUGHS].”

Du Plessis could potentially bring up the odd social media post during the UFC 305 pre-fight press conference. It’s expected to be another entertaining verbal back-and-forth between the two top middleweights.

Du Plessis is entering enemy territory against Adesanya, who will likely have a large, vocal fanbase in Perth. But, he seems undeterred by the potentially hostile environment he’s in this week.

Du Plessis’ rise to the UFC middleweight title included recent wins over Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, and Darren Till. His victory over Whittaker at UFC 290 preceded a heated altercation with Adesanya in the middle of the Octagon.

If du Plessis defeats Adesanya this weekend, he’ll firmly rein in a new era in the UFC middleweight division and get the last laugh against Adesanya after their odd back-and-forths.