"This next one, I’m gonna have fun" - Israel Adesanya teases 'village secret' he'll use against Dricus Du Plessis in next title defense

Israel Adesanya caused quite a buzz when he got in Dricus du Plessis' face after the latter's emphatic win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. Adesanya has set his eyes on du Plessis, ever since the South African made a statement that rubbed the Nigerian-Kiwi fighter the wrong way.

Basically, 'Stillknocks' said that fighters like 'Stylebender', Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou weren't representative of Africa since they adopted homes outside of the continent. While, he was the only fighter living in Africa, fighting in the UFC.

Taking shots at du Plessis, Israel Adesanya posted a picture of him training at Mount Eden, a suburb in Auckland. It is renowned for its rugby training ground and cricket stadium. Here's what the caption of his post read:

"This next one, I'm going to have fun. It takes a village hidden in the streets of Mt. Eden to create this upcoming masterpiece. I will express it in blood, and still come out clean."

With the face-off in the octagon at UFC 290, it seems very likely that 'Stylebender' and 'Stilknocks' will be pitted against each other. The hype around this fight could very well help bring in massive pay-per-view numbers, with the potential of it being one of the biggest cards in UFC history.

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What did Dricus du Plessis said that ticked Israel Adesanya?

Dricus du Plessis is one of the fastest-rising prospects in the UFC, with an undefeated promotional record in six fights. 'Stillknocks' has dispatched fighters like Trevin Giles, Brad Tavares, Darren Till, Derek Brunson, and most recently, Robert Whittaker.

In his last fight at UFC 290, the South African fighter was able to dispatch his Aussie counterpart in the second round. Following the bout, Israel Adesanya walked into the octagon to confront Dricus du Plessis about a certain comment the South African made.

Here's what du Plessis said that riled Israel Adesanya up:

"Did those belts really go to Africa? As far as I know, [the belts] came to America and New Zealand. I'm going to take the belt to Africa. I'm the real African fighter in the UFC. Myself and Cameron [Saaiman] - we breathe the African air. We wake up in Africa everyday. We train in Africa, we are African-born, we are African-raised. We still reside in Africa, we train out of Africa."

It may not come as a surprise as to why fighters like Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya, who live in the US and New Zealand respectively, would take offense to du Plessis' statements. However, one could interpret the South African fighter's statements of him being the only African-born fighter living in Africa currently.