Israel Adesanya is a man with a score to settle against South African fighter Dricus Du Plessis. The two had an in-ring altercation after Du Plessis' massive victory over Robert Whitaker at UFC 290 on Jul. 8.

However, with a foot injury that may derail him from facing Adesanya as the UFC 293 headliner in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 9, 2023, "The Last Stylebender" thinks it an indication of DuPlessis' overall hesitance to face him in the Octagon.

"Now he doesn't wanna fight," Adesanya said on The Halfcast Podcast. "Even after [UFC 290], he's like, 'Oh, bro, all you had to do was put some gloves on, we could have got it on right there. B**chass f**k. You wouldn't have. 'Cause guess what? He didn't want it. People were like, 'Oh, he's so classy walking away. He's so [classy].' I'm like, 'Bro, he didn't even walk away. He felt me.' He didn't want to feel me.

"He's not a scared man, he's a tough dude," he continued. "He's very crafty, and he's got a good team behind him. Smart team. I don't think he's a scared man, but I'll tell you he's scared of me. You know, when you look in someone's eyes, you just know straight away. He didn't call me to the cage, I stepped in the cage myself. I didn't even see him call me.

"I stepped into the cage because I made this s**t happen. This motherf**ker; I hope, I really was hoping he'd f**king step up. But he's a b***h, and I'll tell you right now. Keep training. Keep training. I've got something for your a**, so keep training."

The beef between Adesanya, who took umbrage at Du Plessis taking shots at the Nigerian-New Zealander's African heritage without acknowledging the Afrikaan colonialist regime of apartheid that still exists in some form, is hotter than ever and the only thing left is to settle it in the Octagon.