Israel Adesanya faces a new test when he returns at UFC 305 to try and reclaim the middleweight title in a fight with Dricus Du Plessis.
"The Last Stylebender" has had his rivals in the past and whilst his story with Alex Pereira has defined big parts of both men's careers, and the likes of Marvin Vettori and Sean Strickland weren't big fans of his, this one is different.
No opponent has been able to bring this kind of intensity out of the former champion quite like Du Plessis has. due to his comments on bringing the title back to Africa.
This opens up the debate whether Adesanya fights best when he's relaxed or amped up.
Megan Anderson Says That Israel Adesanya's Emotion Could Help Or Hinder Him At UFC 305
In a recent preview video of the UFC's return to Perth on her own YouTube channel, former UFC fighter Megan Anderson spoke about the war of words between Du Plessis and Adesanya.
Things appeared to have calmed down (a little) on this front if their most recent encounter was anything to go by but there is clearly still some tension there which could come back around on fight week.
Anderson believes that Adesanya's previous interactions with the champion don't paint the best image for him unless, of course, he can use this dislike of Du Plessis to raise his game another level.
If anything has shown us, anytime these two get together, Israel reacts incredibly emotionally. He is saying things that we've never heard him say before, he is really just going out there and just being so incredibly passionate about this. How much of that is Dricus really revving up this whole rivalry between them and this is getting under Israel's skin, we're going to find out. But, whether it hurts him or helps him perform, that's the biggest question for me.