Dricus du Plessis garners more African support after Israel Adesanya's racial slur tirade - "He's trying to play mind games"
Dricus du Plessis, a surging middleweight contender from South Africa, stunned the MMA world with a second-round TKO victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.
As du Plessis celebrated his triumph, a palpable tension permeated the T-Mobile Arena as UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya stormed inside the cage to face off against his potential next opponent.
The fiery and intense verbal exchange marked the culmination of months of dramatic buildup and verbal fencing based on doubts about each other's African heritage. As for MMA fans, relentlessly questioning each other's African roots has set the stage for a thrilling clash.
Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis face off! 👀
https://t.co/9SGQcq2Xop
While Dricus du Plessis labeled Adesanya's actions at the UFC 290 post-fight octagon interview childish, the UFC middleweight champion claims he was simply carried away by the moment. Meanwhile, fans, MMA pundits, and fellow fighters have started picking their sides for the potential clash, even shedding light on the questions regarding their African heritage.
Amidst the ongoing feud, Nkazimulo "King Shaka" Zulu, the freshly crowned bantamweight champion of EFC (Extreme Fighting Championship), has aligned himself with his fellow South African compatriot, Dricus du Plessis.
Speaking in the post-fight octagon interview following his victory over Musa Sethwape, lent his support to du Plessis, the former EFC two-division champion:
"Everybody, let's come together and get behind Dricus du Plessis. That was a very very beautiful performance from Dricus, very surprising... He did something no one was expecting. Dricus is very good and I know he's going to beat Adesanya. I think Adesanya is scared of du Plessis. He's trying to play mind games, which I think is stupid. Dricus is going to finish him."
Catch Nkazimulo Zulu's comments below:
The Zulu King himself speaking of Dricus du Plessis vs Isreal Adesanya 🇿🇦🇿🇦 #united https://t.co/C9J4ZgU3Ry
Former UFC heavyweight hails Dricus du Plessis' skills and commends his team
Fresh off a spectacular second-round TKO victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, Dricus du Plessis has received high praise from former UFC heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub.
What a statement win last weekend at #UFC290, finishing a tough oppenent in Robert Whittaker!
Dricus Du Plessis is the next fight for the current Middleweight king Israel Adesanya, how do you see the title fight going? https://t.co/4gK5eRYAGI
Speaking on a recent episode of The Schaub Show, the American shed light on du Plessis' exceptional skills and urged fans to recognize his talent. While Schaub highlighted that the South African may not necessarily have certain qualities seen in elite fighters, he also claimed that his unique skillset is incredibly challenging to overcome.
According to Schaub:
“DDP is the real deal. I think Robert Whittaker, you look at his fights before this he looked pretty f*cking good. You can’t say this is an older version of Robert Whittaker. I think Dricus du Plessis is that f*cking good and it’s time we start acknowledging it.”
Schaub added:
“Du Plessis is f*cking good and damn near impossible to beat. I’d love to talk to his coach. Hat’s off to him, they’ve done a great job with him and tuning his style and getting it to this world-class level, and nobody believed him. Nobody but his coaches and probably his few family members thought he was going to be at this level.”
With the victory at UFC 290, 'Stillknocks' is all but guaranteed a title shot next. Rumors surfaced on the internet that his clash with Adesanya is under the works for UFC 293 at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.
Catch Schaub's comments below: