VIDEO | Israel Adesanya shares emotional moment with his Mom following UFC 305 press conference

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya had to compose himself with his mother after an emotional UFC 305 press conference.

Adesanya will face UFC middleweight titleholder Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 305 main event this Saturday in Perth, Australia. He returns to the Octagon for the first time since a stunning loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last year.

Adesanya and du Plessis have had a heated buildup to their highly-anticipated title clash this weekend. The sides started barking at each other last year after du Plessis claimed he was the UFC’s first African champion.

This wrongly rubbed Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and other big-name African-born fighters. Adesanya and du Plessis have since created one of the most heated buildups in recent UFC history.

Just hours away from their fight, Adesanya and du Plessis traded barbs during the UFC 305 pre-fight press conference. Things got so heated during the exchanges that a visibly emotional Adesanya seemed to take some of du Plessis’s jabs to heart.

Before returning to the stage for his press conference faceoff with du Plessis, Adesanya took a moment with his mother and assured her that his upcoming opponent would pay the price.

Israel Adesanya hugs his mother after emotional press conference

Watch Adesanya react with his mother to the UFC 305 press conference below.

https://twitter.com/ChampRDS/status/1824518793844101512

Adesanya was born in Lagos, Nigeria before eventually relocating to New Zealand at 10 years old. Just a few years later, he began training in martial arts and eventually became one of the top kickboxers on the planet.

Before the loss to Strickland, Adesanya reclaimed the UFC middleweight title against Alex Pereira at UFC 287. He avenged his third career loss to Pereira, who beat him twice during their stints in Glory Kickboxing.

Adesanya will look to keep his emotions in check and dethrone du Plessis this weekend. Time will tell if the bad blood will work in his favor, or be a detriment to his success.