Following his win over former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of their UFC contest to retain his middleweight title at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia on Saturday, South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis has paid tribute to Nigerian-born Adesanya, stating that “Africa won tonight.”
Speaking after the contest, Du Plessis described Adesanya, nicknamed The Last Stylebender, as a legend.
He said, “Tonight, Africa won regardless. To share this octagon with a legend, this man has done so much for this sport and I’m really sorry it came across that I disrespected he was from Africa – it was never my intention. It was an honour for me to share this cage with a legend like that. I have the utmost respect for him, an ultimate warrior.”
Prior to the contest, the 30-year-old South African had claimed that he was the “first real African champion,” noting that while he still resided on the continent, Adesanya, Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman and Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou – who resides in France, had moved elsewhere.
Similarly, after the contest, 35-year-old Adesanya said, “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.”
It was the first time Adesanya would suffer consecutive defeats in his career, while Du Plessis moved to 8-0 in the UFC with six stoppage wins.
Speaking after the contest in Perth, UFC executive David Shaw hinted that the UFC could host its first ever African event as early as next year.
