Israel Adesanya points to an encounter about four months ago that encapsulates his rivalry with Dricus du Plessis.
“There was a South African guy in my taxi. And he said: ‘You know, when you and Dricus fight, even if you win or he wins, I feel like I win’,” said Adesanya. “And I said ‘exactly’. And then we took a picture, it was a beautiful moment.”
The build-up to Nigeria-born New Zealander Adesanya’s fight with South Africa’s Du Plessis at UFC 305—the first all-African title bout in UFC history—had been contentious.
Du Plessis, 30, claimed he was the UFC’s “first real African champion,” a comment that angered two-time UFC middleweight champion Adesanya, who once held titles alongside fellow Nigerian Kamaru Usman and Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou.
Du Plessis clarified his comment by saying he is the first champion who still resides on the continent, whereas Adesanya, Usman, and Ngannou had moved elsewhere. However, the bitterness persisted during a charged pre-fight news conference.
After a captivating main event in Perth, Australia, where Du Plessis submitted the 35-year-old Adesanya to retain his middleweight title, the pair settled their differences, agreeing that Africa was the real victor in the bout.
“I think Africa won tonight and as I said earlier, he’s going to inspire the next generation of African fighters, just the way me, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou inspired him to become an African champion,” said Adesanya.
After the fight Du Plessis gave Adesanya his jacket, which is embroidered with a South African flag, as a show of respect.
He also referenced former South African president and activist Nelson Mandela, who helped fight for racial equality in the country.
“Izzy and I won’t be friends because on a personal level we don’t see eye to eye but warrior to warrior, after spending that time in the octagon with him, you can’t not respect that man,” said Du Plessis.
“To give him that jacket was a token of appreciation, a thank you for this memory. Win or lose I was going to give him the jacket as reminder of an all-African main event.
“It means the world to me that sport brings people together. The great Nelson Mandela, that is what he said – ‘sport unites people in a way that politics can never do’, and that is a fact. That’s what you saw tonight.
African event could be next year – UFC
The UFC has yet to host an event in Africa, but the organization is eager to schedule one soon.
Speaking after the event in Perth, UFC executive David Shaw referenced UFC 304 in Manchester last month, which took place through the night and early morning to serve an American audience.
The event in Perth was similarly scheduled to accommodate a US audience, with the preliminary card starting at 8:30 am Eastern Australian time.
Shaw mentioned that a pay-per-view event in South Africa would likely mirror the event in Manchester due to similar time zones. This scheduling raises questions for the UFC about how best to balance local and international viewership.
“The Dricus situation is tough, he’s a champion so are going to take a pay-per-view there? We’ve just done Manchester so it’s possible but we also want to make a good first impression,” said Shaw.
“Coming to Africa for the first time, do we want to do an event in the middle of the night?
“The short answer is we’ve got a few different countries we are targeting, nothing to report right now, but this is definitely a 2025 thing, we don’t want to wait much longer.”