UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and his next challenger, former champ Israel Adesanya, came face-to-face for the first time down under on Tuesday.
The two 185-pound fighters are set to clash in the UFC 305 main event in Perth, Australia on August 17, and it was clear from their staredown that neither man is willing to cede an inch to the other ahead of the highly-anticipated title bout.
Both men had been tentatively scheduled to face each other last September — also in Australia — after South Africa’s Du Plessis earned a title shot with a stunning second round finish of Robert Whittaker last July.
However, injury issues experienced by Du Plessis rendered him unable to make the proposed date, with Sean Strickland stepping up to fight Adesanya and subsequently taking the title bout in a comprehensive five-round decision win over the former champ.
But in August, a little less than a year after they were originally intended to fight, the two will finally throw down — and judging by their comments at the press conference (and subsequent staredown) in Oz on Tuesday, both are more than confident of victory.
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