Israel Adesanya points to an encounter about four months ago which can now sum up 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 sour.
Du Plessis, 30, claimed he was the UFC’s “first real African champion” – a comment which riled 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 that still resides on the continent, with Adesanya, Usman and Ngannou all moving elsewhere, but the bitterness remained during a charged pre-fight news conference.
But, 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 before agreeing 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.
