Dricus Du Plessis Apologises to Israel Adesanya’s Family After UFC 305 Win

Dricus Du Plessis Apologises to Israel Adesanya’s Family After UFC 305 Win

  • Dricus Du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya by submission in their UFC 305 title fight
  • Du Plessis got Adesanya in tears with a comment during their pre-match conference
  • The South African shared moments with the Nigerian's family after the fierce match

Dricus Du Plessis did not allow victory to get into his head further and was humble enough to backtrack on his statement to the Adesanya’s family before the match.

Du Plessis defeated Adesanya via submission with a little over a minute to go in the fourth round during their highly-anticipated all-African middleweight title fight.

Dricus du Plessis celebrates after beating Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.
Dricus Du Plessis celebrates after defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. Photo by Paul Kane.
Source: Getty Images

The South African engaged in a disrespectful trash talk with the Nigerian during their post-match conference, where he questioned his African heritage.

He claimed he is not a true African because he migrated to New Zealand when he was a kid, adding that he lived a privileged life and should come to the fight with his servants.

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Reason Israel Adesanya lost to Dricus Du Plessis explained as Nigerians blame Drake

The words got Izzy emotional, and he responded that all he does is for his people, but he never walked his talk in the match and lost the fight.

Du Plessis apologises to Adesanya's family

The two showed sportsmanship after their fight, and as noted by Sportskeeda, Dricus apologised for his comments and praised his opponent for being a warrior.

“For me, [it was an honour] to share this octagon with a legend, not potentially, but a 100 percent Hall of Famer... [Israel Adesanya] has done so much for the sport,” he said.
“I'm really sorry it came across that I disrespected the fact that he was from Africa. That was never my intention. Now tonight, Africa would have won regardless… It was an honor for me to share this cage with a legend like that. I have the utmost respect for him,” he added.

Read also

UFC 305: Dricus Du Plessis beats Israel Adesanya to retain title in battle of Africans

As seen in a video circulated by MMA Junkie, he and his girlfriend Vasti Spiller met Adesanya’s family and apologised to the parents claiming it was misunderstood.

Nigerians blame Drake for Adesanya's loss

Legit.ng reported that Nigerians blamed Drake for Adesanya's loss to Dricus du Plessis in their UFC 305 middleweight title fight in Perth, Australia.

The Canadian rapper is reputable for jinxing sports stars he bet on, with Lionel Messi’s Argentina the only team to break his jinx at the 2022 FIFA World Cup final.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Elijah Odetokun avatar

Elijah Odetokun (Sports Editor) Elijah Odetokun is a Nigerian sports editor at Legit NG. He has four years of working experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria (August 2020 - September 2020), OmaSports (December 2020 - June 2021), El Futbolero (July 2021; September 2021- November 2021), and Sports Brief (November 2022 - July 2024). He is a press conference and interview specialist and has attended trainings held by Reuters, AIPS, and FIJ. He holds a Bachelor of Agriculture (2021) from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Reach me via elijah.odetokun@sportsbrief.com

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