NO IDEA WHO I AM TMZSports.com
Dricus Du Plessis isn't only traveling thousands of miles for his first title defense, but he's headed straight into Israel Adesanya's backyard. So, is the middleweight champ pissed off?!
Nope ... in fact, he tells us he would've preferred to fight in Izzy's own gym!
"I'm extremely happy," Du Plessis told TMZ Sports. "If I had it my way, I would have done it in Auckland, where he's from."
The champ added ... "If this was in his hometown, we could have done this fight in his gym, I would have loved it even more.