\n<\/p>\n
Israel Adesanya points to an encounter about four months ago which can now sum up his rivalry with Dricus du Plessis.<\/b><\/p>\n
“There was a South African guy in my taxi. And he said: ‘You know, when you and Dricus fight, even if you win or he wins, I feel like I win’,” said Adesanya.<\/p>\n
“And I said ‘exactly’. And then we took a picture, it was a beautiful moment.”<\/p>\n
The build-up to Nigeria-born New Zealander Adesanya’s fight with South Africa’s Du Plessis at UFC 305 – the first all-African title bout in UFC history – had been sour.<\/p>\n
Du Plessis, 30, claimed he was the UFC’s “first real African champion”<\/a> – a comment which riled two-time UFC middleweight champion Adesanya, who once held titles alongside fellow Nigerian Kamaru Usman and Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou. <\/p>\n Du Plessis clarified his comment by saying he is the first champion that still resides on the continent, with Adesanya, Usman and Ngannou all moving elsewhere, but the bitterness remained during a charged pre-fight news conference.<\/a><\/p>\n But, after a captivating main event in Perth, Australia where Du Plessis submitted the 35-year-old Adesanya to retain his middleweight title, the pair settled their differences before agreeing Africa was the real victor in the bout.<\/p>\n “I think Africa won tonight and as I said earlier, he’s going to inspire the next generation of African fighters, just the way me, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou inspired him to become an African champion,” said Adesanya.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n