Israel Adesanya, who was 'forced to flee (his) home country ...
Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev face off in a highly anticipated middleweight championship bout at UFC 302 on May 29, 2024.AP
Two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya went off on upcoming, “privileged” opponent and current champion Dricus Du Plessis in response to the South African’s boasts of being the first African champion. Du Plessis showed his ignorance on the topic during media day for UFC 285. Now, almost a year and a half later, two “African” champions will clash on Saturday, and Du Plessis must back his words.
“Did the belt ever go to Africa? As far as I know, he came to America and New Zealand,” Du Plessis said last March before beating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 and winning the middleweight championship on Jan. 20, 2024. “I’m gonna take a belt to Africa. I’m the African fighter in the UFC. Myself and Cameron (Saaiman), we breathe African air. We wake up in Africa everyday. We train in Africa. We are African born, we are African raised. We still reside in Africa. ... That’s an African champion.”
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