Dana White utterly unbothered by Israel Adesanya calling Dricus Du Plessis the N-word live at UFC 290 - "He's black."
Dana White does not find anything bothersome about Israel Adesanya dropping a series of N-bombs on Dricus Du Plessis. Du Plessis defeated former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 via second-round TKO. He is the potential next contender for the UFC middleweight title reclaimed by Adesanya at UFC 287.
Du Plessis is one of the elite UFC fighters that the African continent has produced along with the like of Israel Adesany, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou. However, he belongs to white ethnicity, unlike the rest of them. Adesanya and Du Plessis faced off in the octagon during the post-fight formalities at UFC 290. ‘The Last Stylebender’ addressed Du Plessis as N**** multiple times during this face-off.
He is facing a lot of heat online for using the word. However, UFC president Dana White finds no offense in that. While speaking to the MMA media during UFC 290 post-fight press conference, White stated:
"What were the racial undertones? Who dropped the [N-word]? He's [Israel Adesanya] black. Who gives a sh*t... I could care less. This is the fight business. Israel Adesanya can say whatever the f*** he wants to say. Who gives a sh*t? Why, are people b*tching about that? Of course, they are... Too f***ing bad."
Watch the video below, courtesy of UFC’s official YouTube channel:
African heritage and identity have been one of the points of contention between Adesanya and Du Plessis. Don’t be surprised if it becomes a part of the storyline if and when the fight is made.
Israel Adesanya has a fresh wave of contenders waiting for him
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has defeated several of the top contenders since winning the title in 2019. After regaining the title from Alex Pereira at UFC 287, Adesanya was staring at potential rematches against former foes like Jared Cannonier, Robert Whittaker, and Marvin Vettori.
However, Dricus Du Plessis’s second-round knockout win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 and Sean Strickland’s win over Abus Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76 have brought a refreshing change to the title picture.
Adesanya has been engaged in a war of words with both fighters. Let’s wait and watch if either man has the skill to dethrone the long-reigning champion.