IN the fight game there are many battles that a fighter must win before they set foot in the octagon and try to win the most important one, the actual fight.
Though it’s not always the case, the fighters’ battles before the actual fight tend to influence their performances in the octagon and thus the result of the fight.
Throughout the week, the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion, South Africa’s very own Dricus du Plessis, looked more confident and relaxed than his opponent, Israel Adesanya, who he faces off with in Perth, Australia tomorrow.
Be it through their social media battles, or individual media interviews, Du Plessis simply looked a class or two ahead of Adesanya.
Everything that Adesanya threw, Du Plessis took and responded to with nothing but charisma, thereby drawing more fans into his corner ahead of the fight.
In yesterday’s pre-fight press conference, the fighters’ final battle before they meet in the octagon tomorrow, Du Plessis seemingly won the war of words when he had the former champion Adesanya crying in front of a packed Arena.
The Kiwi believes that Du Plessis had discredited his Africanism when he said he was the ‘first true African champion’, a topic that is very near and dear to Adesanya’s heart, having emigrated to New Zealand from Nigeria at a young age.
“I do not care about your story,” said Du Plessis during the heated exchange.
However, as tears ran down Adesanya’s face, with both his parents sitting in the front row seats amid the emotional exchange, a fire sparked in Adesanya’s eyes.
This is the fire that had not been visible in Adesanya’s eyes throughout the build-up to the fight, a feat that caused many to doubt whether the 35-year-old middleweight great had it in him to win against a younger, hungrier fighter in Du Plessis.
“I do this for my family, the people that I love. I will fight for you forever, I swear to God,” an emotional Adesanya said while pointing at his mom and dad in the front row seats.
“Sunday (today) I want to kill your dreams,” he emphasised while pointing at Du Plessis.
This is the second fighter that Du Plessis got the better of, having also made former champion Sean Strickland cry in the build-up to their title fight earlier this year.
However, in this case, it seems that Du Plessis might have opened a can of worms as Adesanya seemed to have his spark back following the exchange.
The main card will get under way at 6am SAST (see TV schedule on page 22 for viewing details).