The two fighters finally put to rest their back-and-forth trash talk after their face-off in the cage at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. The fight was a tough one, but Du Plessis finally won after putting Adesanya in a rear naked choke that led to a tapout in round 4.
Both athletes have had an ongoing beef prior to the fight, with Du Plessis accusing Adesanya of not being a real African. However, after the fight, the two laid their grievances to bed and hugged. Plessis paid homage to the Nigerian and called him a “legend” and “Hall of Famer.”
Despite his loss, Adesanya seems to be on good terms with the reigning champion and has even mentioned hanging out with him in the future. But as to a rematch, Adesanya is unsure if he wants to get into the cage with Du Plessis.
“I’m not really desperate to get it back,” Adesanya said post-fight. “He gave me a lot of respect in there and I gave him his respect back. I already knew he was a fan of me. But now I’m a fan of his because we’ve been in there. We’ve done it. When I’m in South Africa, I’ll tap in with him. I said, ‘Look, we can hang out, but just so you know when we have to fight again, I’m going to kill you.’ He’s like, ‘I’m going to kill you too.’ Respect is always there.
“Dricus is an African champion. But the three kings will reign supreme. That era [with Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou] right there was what set this off for people like him. He’s going to inspire another generation of African fighters as well. So congrats to him tonight. Until we meet again.”
Despite suffering two losses in a row, the fighter doesn’t seem ready to quit just yet. Many thought the Nigerian-Kiwi fighter was retiring when he took off his gloves after the fight, but it seems the fuss was for nothing.
“People just read too much into shit,” Adesanya said. “For me, who knows what happens. Life is fleeting. Who knows what happens? [Du Plessis] might never come back if something happens. Any one of us in this room could go tomorrow. I try and take each fight, each moment, as if it was my last.
“I only took the gloves off because it was tight after the fight. He’s got a strong head. I hit him with some shots so my hands were a bit, not broken, not even close, but just a little bit sore. So that’s why I took the gloves off. Nothing about retiring. No, I told you I’m not f*cking leaving. I’m not f*cking leaving until I want to leave.”
“You’ll see me again when you see me again,” Adesanya said. “Enjoy me while I’m here because you’ll miss me when I’m gone.”
The fighter may not be getting another title shot, but he is ready to stay in the game and keep on fighting. Izzy next match will be the loser of Chimaev vs. Whittaker or the #4 ranked Nassourdine Imavov. Chimaev and Imavov would also be fresh opponents for the former Nigerian champion.
