Israel Adesanya ends social media silence by paying classy tribute to Dricus du Plessis post UFC 305: "You have the torch, light the fire and inspire"
Dricus du Plessis cemented himself as the king of the middleweight division after defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. Following a fiery build-up between the pair, 'The Last Stylebender' has now penned a touching message to the South African.
The beef between the pair began following Du Plessis' comments about wanting to be the first "real African UFC champion", made after joining the promotion in 2020. Adesanya, the middleweight champion at the time, was irked by the statement, labeling it as disrespectful to himself, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou.
The tension between the pair ahead of UFC 305 was near-palpable, but following the result, the pair have squashed their beef after making history as the first ever all-African UFC title fight.
'Stillknocks' also handed Adesanya the first submission loss of his career, and the former two-time champion has now taken to social media to share a message with the 185-pound king.
He wrote this:
"I'm happy I got to fight again, appreciate all the energy from yous. Congrats @dricusduplessis, thank you for your honest words and speaking your truth. No matter what, Africa won tonight! DDP, you have the torch... light the fire and inspire!"
See Israel Adesanya's post below:
Israel Adesanya addresses retirement scare following Dricus du Plessis defeat
Israel Adesanya returned from a lengthy hiatus from fighting to face off against Dricus du Plessis in a much-anticipated clash.
Their UFC 305 headliner did not disappoint, as the pair traded strikes and grappling exchanges before 'Stillknocks' secured a rear-naked choke finish in Round 4.
Following the bout, 'The Last Stylebender' was seen standing in the octagon with his gloves removed, causing concern amongst some fans that he will be preparing to announce his retirement from MMA.
But Adesanya's post-fight speech saw him adamant that his time in the sport was not yet over. During his appearance at the post-fight press conference he addressed the retirement scare and said:
"People just read too much into s**t... I only took the gloves off because they were tight after the fight. [Du Plessis] has got a strong head, man. I hit him with some shots, so my hands were a bit, not broken, but just a little bit sore. So that's why I took the gloves off, but nothing about retiring. I told yous, I'm not f**king leaving."
Watch Adesanya discuss retirement rumors after Dricus du Plessis loss (5:48):