Israel Adesanya breaks down crying at UFC 305 press conference, Khabib Nurmagomedov settles tax debt, and more: MMA News Roundup

Israel Adesanya became a crying mess of a man during a heated confrontation with Dricus du Plessis at the UFC 305 press conference. Elsewhere, Khabib Nurmagomedov reportedly cleared all his tax debt to Russian authorities.

Check out today's top combat sports updates with Sportskeeda MMA's News Roundup.

---

A tearful Israel Adesanya explodes at Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 press conference

Cultural heritage has been the root of the rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis from the beginning. Their trash-talking has been racially charged in the past, but they managed to keep things civil in the build-up to UFC 305 - up until the press conference.

The two middleweights engaged in a fiery back-and-forth in Perth, Australia, heading back to the debate of what makes a true African champion. After Adesanya answered a reporter's question about whether he would take the belt back to Africa if he won, du Plessis took a swipe at his opponent's childhood with a reference to the "domestic servants" comment made in a previous interview.

Adesanya fired back:

"Bro, shut the f*ck up. You don’t even know anything about my story. You have no idea who the f*ck I am. Listen, my father and myself had to wake up at 4 a.m. and clean the banks while my mom studied to be a nurse. You don’t know my f*cking story."

Du Plessis kept the retort short with a curt "My man" which incensed Adesanya even more. As the tension boiled over, 'The Last Stylebender' added in a tearful, broken voice:

"He touched a subject there because I do this for my family. I do this for the people I love, and I will fight for you forever, I swear to God. Watch this. Look, I am a f*cking human being, I am a man. I can cry and whoop your ass at the same time."

Watch the segment below (19:25 onwards):

---

Khabib Nurmagomedov reportedly settles tax debt in Russia

Khabib Nurmagomedov has reportedly settled the $3.4 million debt owed to the Russian tax authorities, according to a report by Telegram media outlet, SHOT.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Nurmagomedov was entangled in a case of tax evasion and found himself on the wrong side of the law. His million-dollar car collection was seized and his assets were frozen in the aftermath of the news.

Conor McGregor, the lifelong arch-rival of the Dagestani, took this opportunity to claim that he had put down his name to buy Nurmagomedov's family house. There were rumors that 'The Eagle' could return to the UFC to earn enough to settle the debts. Some even said that the former lightweight champion had left Russia for good and was seeking UAE citizenship.

---

Dana White reacts to UFC's pro-Republican reputation

Several top UFC fighters, including Dana White himself, are close allies of Donald Trump. The former U.S. president has attended multiple UFC events and enjoys watching the sport in general. The close ties the UFC CEO shares with the ex-POTUS have given the promotion a reputation leaning towards Republican ideologies.

White addressed the matter in a recent conversation with Ben Fowlkes. He said:

"If [Joe] Biden came to a UFC event, I would treat Biden the same way!... Or if [Barack] Obama, [George] Bush, any of those guys ever came to an event, we would treat them with the same respect. If a former or standing president of the United States shows up to your event, you show them respect... I’m an American, and whoever is the president of the United States, is my president."