PERTH, Australia – Daniel Cormier thinks Israel Adesanya’s emotional breakdown during the UFC 305 pre-fight press conference may serve him well.
Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) was brought to tears when firing back at Dricus Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) during Friday’s UFC 305 pre-fight press conference. While many could view it as Du Plessis being in Adesanya’s head, Cormier thinks Adesanya’s vulnerability could have a positive impact on him.
When Adesanya lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney, the crowd were surprisingly pro-Strickland. Adesanya already got a pop from the Perth crowd during the press conference, but Cormier expects even more support now.
“With Adesanya being as emotional, and people seeing him let his guard down like that, I think it’s only going to sway them more in his direction,” Cormier told MMA Junkie. “Because you’ve got to remember who Adesanya was for a long time. People could have been like, ‘This cocky son of a gun.’ I think that he showed them his true human side, and I think that’s going to sway them.”
Du Plessis touched a nerve when suggesting that Adesanya was privileged growing up. Cormier admits he was surprised that fight week was rather tame after the initial build-up – until the press conference took their rivalry to the next level.
“It was so bad in the build, this week was pretty measured, but we did know there was still the press conference,” Cormier told MMA Junkie. “Today, press conference delivered. It was all the same things we expected; insults, the anger, the emotion from Izzy. You just didn’t know, right? I asked Dricus about that.
“I said, ‘Man, you’re saying Izzy did this and that.’ And he was like, ‘I saw it on the Internet, I believe it, I’m going with it.’ And it seemed like when he was doing that today, he touched a nerve and it really did affect Adesanya. It was explosive man. It was crazy.”
Cormier praised Du Plessis for his ability to get under his opposition’s skin. The pair will settle their score in Saturday’s UFC 305 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) headliner at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
“Sean Strickland was pretty emotional (vs. Du Plessis),” Cormier said. “It’s so crazy because I think Dricus, he frustrates you. He might frustrate these guys so much that they have these emotional responses to him and it’s crazy.
“It’s kind of on brand for him because even his fighting style, it’s frustrating for his opponents and they can’t figure him out. I think that’s kind of what happened to Adesanya today and he was very emotional. It was something.”
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