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Newly minted UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has put Dricus Du Plessis on notice.
Adesanya captured the 185-pound gold for the second time in his pro MMA career after knocking Alex Pereira out cold in the main event of UFC 287. Pereira was 3-0 against Adesanya in combat sports, and 1-0 under the MMA banner prior to his first UFC Middleweight Championship defense against “The Last Stylebender.”
While Adesanya appeared hesitant in his late 2022 loss against “Poatan,” he unloaded with strikes this time after Pereira peppered him with heavy leg kicks. A right hook stunned Pereira in the second stanza, and Adesanya made sure to close the deal with another right hand that put his opponent to sleep.
Israel Adesanya & Dricus Du Plessis Beef Over African Authenticity
While Adesanya is enjoying the fruits of his labor, he took the time to let one rising middleweight contender know that he’s well aware of some recent comments that were made questioning the authenticity in being called an African UFC champion. The contender in question is Dricus Du Plessis, who made those comments during a media scrum (h/t MMAMania).
“Did those belts ever go to Africa?” Du Plessis asked. “As far as I know, they came to America and New Zealand. I’m going to take a belt to Africa. I’m the African fighting in the UFC. Myself and Cameron [Saaiman], we breathe African air. We wake up in Africa every day. We train in Africa, we’re Africa born, we’re Africa raised, we still reside in Africa, we train out of Africa. That’s an African champion, and that’s who I’ll be.”
Israel Adesanya returned fire during the UFC 287 post-fight press conference (via Sportsmanor.com).
“I wanna whoop his ass so bad,” Adesanya said. “I’ll remind you because you gotta choose your words wisely when you speak on people that have come before you, people that paved the way for you. I pray to God he keeps winning. I will gladly drag his carcass across South Africa.”