Dricus du Plessis is eager to put this feud with Israel Adesanya to rest.

Adesanya won the middleweight title at UFC 287 with a sensational second-round knockout of longtime adversary Alex Pereira. It was a triumphant moment for Adesanya, who lay the groundwork for a future challenge when, despite refusing to name du Plessis, he threatened to "drag his carcass across South Africa" if he continued to win fights.

“For him saying that, does he think I’m scared of him?” du Plessis said on The MMA Hour. “I am not scared of that man? The fact that he put some threats out there, obviously he’s forgotten, because I don’t take kindly to threats. Over here, it doesn’t work like that. If you want to make threats, come and show me. Come and show me how you drag my carcass around. I would love to see you try.

“And like I said in that message: UFC Africa is far away from being done. It’s probably going to happen next year. I don’t want to wait that long. I will beat him this year, and after that fight, if he still feels like he has all this power over me and he’s trying to intimidate me, that’s good. Then come to Africa next year, and we’ll fight for the belt in a rematch where I’m the champion. Because that fight’s not happening this year, and he does not scare me. Not one little bit.”

Adesanya's hatred for du Plessis derives from comments made by the South African fighter about being "an African champion," claiming that he lives and trains in Africa but other African-born champions, such as Adesanya and Kamaru Usman, do not.