ISRAEL ADESANYA repeatedly called Dricus Du Plessis the N-WORD during a heated face-off at UFC 290.
South African slugger Du Plessis set up a grudge match with the middleweight champion with a shock TKO win over Robert Whittaker on the stacked International Fight Week card in Las Vegas.
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Adesanya was brought into the cage for a face-off with the 'Still Knocks' to promote their Sydney showdown in nine weeks' time.
But things took a dark turn when Nigerian-born New Zealander Adesanya repeatedly called his upcoming opponent a "n***a" in response to Du Plessis declaring himself the UFC's "real African fighter" back in March.
After being separated by security, The City Kickboxing ace said: "Relax, this is my African brother.
"Let's go n***a. What's up, b***h? Let's go, n***a.
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"Yeah, n***a. What the f**k you gonna do, n***a? Yeah, my African brother, yeah my African brother.
"What's up, brother?"
Du Plessis responded by saying: "I'm African, but I'm no brother of yours, son."
A fired-up Adesanya replied: "You my n***a, let's go. You my n***a for real."
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Du Plessis did little to quell the tension, asking Adesanya: "So what do you say to the people in New Zealand?"
Adesanya then said: "I'll say one thing: I don't need a DNA test. I don't need a 36 and me to tell me where I'm from.
"If I do a 26 and me, they'll say I'm from Nigeria. Do a 26 and me DNA test, it'll tell you where you're from.
"I will show you where you're from."
The feud between Adesanya and Du Plessis began when the former declared himself the UFC's "real African fighter" and insinuated the titles won by Adesanya, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou didn't go back to Africa.
Adesanya, 33, fumed at Du Plessis' comments, saying: " As a product of colonization, you’re trying to tell me who the f**k I am.
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"You could take the boy out of Africa, but you could never take the Africa out of the boy.
“I never did that to him. I never, ever discredited him as an African.
"OK, you are. Cool. You want to make a fight? Cool.
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"But the fact that, as a f*****g c*****r to tell me who the f**k I am, that pissed me off.
"And that’s why he’s my next fight, because I don’t want to fight anyone else. This one pisses me off.”
