Israel Adesanya Slams Dricus Du Plessis Over African Champion Discourse: 'We Paved The Way For Him'
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya went on a tirade about Dricus Du Plessis’ African champion comments. Read on!
![Dricus Du Plessis(left) and Israel Adesanya(right) Image Courtesy: Dricus Du Plessis' X/ Getty Images](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-08/1480867857_untitled-design.jpg)
Israel Adesanya, also known as The Last Stylebender, accused his UFC 305 opponent, Dricus Du Plessis, of living a privileged life in South Africa. Izzy claimed that he was forced to move out of the country to find better opportunities, while Stillknocks remained in his home country due to the affluent lifestyle he grew up in.
Up-and-coming welterweight contender Abdul Razak Alhassan was also named by Israel Adesanya. According to Izzy, the Ghanaian fighter was also forced to flee his home town due to the underprivileged circumstances he faced in his country. After a long silence, the rivalry between the middleweight contenders has reignited with these statements.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis once threw shade at the three African champions, Israel Adesanya, Francis Ngannou, and Kamaru Usman. Hailing from South Africa, Stillknocks hinted that he was the real African fighter in the organization. The 30-year-old contender believed that the championship title belts never went to his country.
This lit a fire under Israel Adesanya, who proceeded to go after Dricus Du Plessis’ claims. The Last Stylebender believes he never criticized Stillknocks and does not understand his viewpoint on the matter. He also expressed how his comments have enraged him and wanted to step into the octagon with the champ.
Welterweight contender Abdul Razak Alhassan became part of the conversation when he slammed Dricus Du Plessis. He believes that Stillknocks lived a privileged lifestyle in Africa that prompted him to stay there while he moved out of the country to find better opportunities for himself.
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Israel Adesanya went on to echo the same talking points as Abdul Razak Alhassan. “People like Razak and myself who were forced to flee our own country because of, you know, a better opportunity,” said The Last Stylebender. He also goes on to accuse Stillknocks of living a privileged life.
“He will never understand that because he lives behind the f****** gates of his privileged life in South Africa,” said Israel Adesanya. He then mentioned Francis Ngannou’s well-documented, grueling escape from Africa. The Last Stylebender believes he paved the way for Dricus Du Plessis to become the champion.
“We paved the way for him,” said Izzy, mentioning Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman. Israel Adesanya completely disavows Dricus Du Plessis’ earlier statements. The Last Stylebender takes him on at the much-anticipated UFC 305 and predicts he will regain his middleweight championship belt from him.
Fans believed the hype for Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis to have died down. The bad blood that both contenders had toward each other had fizzled out, and neither fighter was going after each other in the way they used to. However, with Izzy's recent comments, the feud is believed to have re-ignited.
Also read: Alexander Volkanovski Predicts Complete Performance From Israel Adesanya: ‘Gets a Crazy Finish’
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