Israel Adesanya's returning to the Octagon for a scrap with Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 ... and the former champ is now breaking down exactly where his beef stands with the current middleweight title holder.
"It's not personal, I just want him to take accountability for his remarks," Izzy recently told TMZ Sports ... just days before his August 17 main event.
Said "remarks" go back to when Du Plessis -- who was born in South Africa -- said he was gunning to become the first "real African" champion in the UFC ... something Adesanya (born in Nigeria before ultimately moving to New Zealand for a better educational opportunity) took serious umbrage over.
"People like [Abdul Razak Alhassan] and myself who are forced to flee our own country because of a better opportunity, [Dricus will] never understand that because he lives behind the f***ing gates of his privileged life in South Africa, and he's able to do that there," Adesanya said.
"Someone like Francis [Ngannou] who had to cross the desert to go overseas to train, if you know Francis' story, you can't call him not a 'real African' champion," Izzy continued.
"I was like, bro, are you f***ing kidding? The guy got sent back out to the desert six, seven times to go die. And he survived."
Izzy went on to explain that he doesn't believe Dricus would be where he is now -- with the UFC belt around his waist -- without the African fighters who came before him.
"Without Francis being champion, without myself being champion, without Kamaru [Usman] being champion, he would have never been champion. We paved the way for him, and then he comes out there and tries to take it all for himself."
"What kind of mindset is that?"
Bad blood aside, we also talked to Stylebender about changes he's made to his preparation during his 10-month layoff, how he might look different in the Octagon, and whether he's back for good, or could be one-and-done.
Check out the clip!