"Butthurt over literally everything" - Fans mock Israel Adesanya for lashing out at Dricus du Plessis over "mean mug" at UFC 305 welcome ceremony

Israel Adesanya has criticized Dricus du Plessis ahead of their highly anticipated grudge match. 'IThe Last Stylebender' accused du Plessis of 'mean-mugging' him during the UFC 305 welcome ceremony, during which the fighters received a traditional welcome to Australia. Many fight fans subsequently disagreed with Adesanya.

A Nigeria-born New Zealander, Adesanya is a former two-time UFC middleweight champion. A few years back, then-UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, then-UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, and then-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou were fondly referred to as the 'Three Kings of Africa'.

Despite that, du Plessis claimed that he'd become the first 'real African' UFC champion who was born, resides, and trains in Africa. A few other fighters of African descent, including Adesanya, took umbrage with the remarks.

Speaking to The Mac Life's Oscar Willis, Adesanya recently attributed du Plessis' comments to "willful ignorance." Moreover, he referenced the UFC 305 welcoming ceremony and suggested that du Plessis 'mean-mugged' him and disrespected the ceremony:

"I think it just shows his character; shows who he is, shows the cloth he's cut from. Again, you see something that's happening that's great, and you want to try and take it all for yourself. That's the mentality of him and his people. Again, yesterday, at the f**king, 'Welcome to Country', I'm there trying to tap into the energy of the people, and listen to the original people of the land, and paying respects.

"Motherf**ker is there, trying to mean-mug me. I remember looking at him like, 'The f**k are you doing?' Like, pay attention. Just feel. This is not the time and place. What are you going to, try and mean-mug me and try to fight me here? What a f**king idiot."

Watch Adesanya's assessment below:

Watch the full interview below (Adesanya's comments at 10:15-13:13):

Israel Adesanya's comments piqued fan interest on social media, including on X, with many in the community accusing him for attempting to paint Dricus du Plessis in a bad light.

Some fans opined that 'Stillknocks' was in his head, while others emphasized that the South African fighter was simply looking at the challenger. An X user wrote:

"He was just looking at you bro lmao he's in your head"

A commenter accused Adesanya of starting "fake beef with everyone," whereas another noted that only the Australian and New Zealand fighters partook in the ceremony.

An observer tweeted:

"This dude gets butthurt over literally everything"

Check out screenshots of a few reactions below:

Screenshots of tweets

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UFC 305 welcome ceremony: Israel Adesanya, Dricus du Plessis, and others receive traditional welcome

Reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis defends his championship against Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, this weekend.

The UFC fighters competing at the event recently participated in a traditional 'Welcome to Country' ceremony. Such ceremonies are helmed by a local Aboriginal leader, generally an 'Elder'. It signifies the native Australian peoples' welcoming of guests and pays respects to the land's natives.

As indicated by UNSW Sydney, the arrangements of the 'Welcome to Country' ceremony need to be negotiated with the given location's Land Council in advance. Israel Adesanya posted several photos from the event to Instagram and reiterated his respect for the natives.