All the hostility, all the horrific insults and all the anger are long forgotten for middleweights Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya, who shared a touching moment backstage after their main event bout in Australia.
In a scene reminiscent of the one where Kamaru Usman burst into tears while hugging Tyron Woodley’s mother following his own UFC title win, Dricus Du Plessis shared a touching moment of respect as he apologised to the Adesanya family following his title win in Perth.
Dricus Du Plessis gives Israel Adesanya his South African jacket after UFC 305
Following his fourth-round submission victory, Dricus Du Plessis sought to bury the hatchet with “Stylebender” in his post-fight interview, and the South African apologized for any offense he may have caused in the run-up to UFC 305.
“For me, it was an honor to share this Octagon with a legend, not potentially, but a 100 percent Hall of Famer… I’m really sorry that it seemed like I didn’t respect the fact that he’s from Africa. That was never my intention. Tonight, Africa would have won either way.
“It was an honour to share this cage with such a legend,” said Du Plessis, adding that “I have the utmost respect for him” – both as a fighter and as a person.
That respect continued late into the night, with the most touching moment of the entire event being an interaction between the two backstage that was caught on camera after the conclusion of UFC 305.
In the video shared online by Submission Radio, Dricus Du Plessis gifts Israel Adesanya the custom-made South African-themed jacket he wore at the press conference. “Stylebender” is blown away by the gesture, raising DDP’s hand and saying: “Respect, an African champion.”
Du Plessis then took a moment to speak to Israel Adesanya’s family, and although much of the conversation is inaudible, “Stillknocks” can be heard thanking his parents for “raising a warrior.”
Dricus Du Plessis talks about interaction with Adesanya’s family after the fight
At the post-fight press conference, Dricus Du Plessis spoke about why he gave Adesanya his custom-made jacket and why he felt the need to speak to the legendary ex-champion’s family.
“Let me tell you one thing: At the end of the day, it was never my intention to challenge Israel or any other African fighter to be the first African fighter. I never attacked that family, so after the fight I just said that if it sounded like I said something bad about your parents, that was not the case.
“I will never disrespect your parents and he said he understands that,” the middleweight champion explained, before adding that despite their differences, it was impossible for him to have buried the hatchet after such an incredible fight.
“We’re not friends because we don’t agree on a personal level, but we’re warriors among warriors, and after spending time (with him) in that Octagon and seeing what he’s accomplished in the sport, you just can’t not respect the man.
“Giving him this jacket was a reminder, a token of appreciation and a thank you for that. It’s a reminder for me, it’s such a huge moment in my life, (and) I brought the jacket here specifically to give it to him.”
Du Plessis said he planned to give the jacket to Adesanya regardless of whether he won or lost the middleweight title, “because he said he wanted to fight warriors from all countries and I respect that.”
“I wanted to give this to him as a token of my appreciation for fighting, for this incredible fight for which I gave the best of myself, and also as a memory of this magical moment of an all-African main event.”
Two legendary middleweights, one legendary night in Perth.
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