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Israel Adesanya is finally recognizing Dricus DuPlessis as an African champion.
For the past few years, Adesanya has clashed with DuPlessis after Dricus claimed he was the only “true African” in the UFC, since he was born and raised in South Africa.
“He tried to discredit the ‘Three Kings’ and say that he is the real, true African champion. It’s a weird mindset, bro. When he came into the UFC, I knew who he was a little bit, but I didn’t think, ‘Oh, what the heck, who’s this fake dude coming in?”
“He’s just another African in the UFC.’ But then, him discrediting me, Francis Ngannou, and Kamaru Usman—that ticked me off a little bit.”
Israel Adesanya on Dricus Du Plessis:
"He tried to discredit the 'Three Kings' and say that he is the real, true African champion. It's a weird mindset, bro. When he came into the UFC, I knew who he was a little bit, but I didn't think, 'Oh, what the heck, who's this fake dude… pic.twitter.com/WJ7gl0OQwP
— MMA.PROS.PICK (@MMAPROSPICK) July 3, 2024
On Saturday night, Adesanya lost when he got choked out by Du Plessis in the fourth round.
After the fight, Adesanya kept things classy by acknowledging Du Plessis as an “African” champion.
🗣️ Israel Adesanya: “Dricus is an African champion, but the 3 kings will reign supreme…
[Dricus] is gonna inspire another generation of African fighters as well. Congrats to him tonight. Till we meet again.”#UFC #MMA #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/nAGfrkuFoh
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 18, 2024
Israel Adesanya holds his head high after his loss to Dricus du Plessis at #UFC305:
"I always knew he was a fan of me. Now, I'm a fan of his. … I think Africa won tonight." pic.twitter.com/PyZ2Bp95L8
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) August 18, 2024