Israel Adesanya already envisioned confronting Dricus Du Plessis after UFC 290, but admits his emotions were high in the moment.
Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) upset former champion Robert Whittaker with a second-round TKO at UFC 290, setting him up for a title fight against middleweight champion Adesanya.
Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC), who was in attendance, stepped into the octagon to face off with Du Plessis. He threw racial slurs at the South African fighter, which led to plenty of criticism.
“He worked hard,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “I manifest for myself and I make sure I do the work to get that manifestation right. It’s not just sit there and ‘Kumbaya.’ What’s going to happen? I do the work. Trust me: There’s levels … Even at the prep point, I was giving him energy. Like f*ck yeah – positive affirmations, like ‘Let’s go.’ But yeah, when (the faceoff) happened, I just lost my sh*t.”
Adesanya’s intensity stems from Du Plessis’ comments on how winning a UFC title would make him a true African champion since he still trains and resides in Africa.
It’s not the first time Adesanya has taken matters personally in a fight. After he regained the title from Alex Pereira by knockout at UFC 287, Adesanya taunted Pereira’s son, who mocked him years ago when he was knocked out by Pereira in kickboxing.
But the finish, overcoming adversity and his post-fight speech had plenty of people admiring him. He may not be receiving love with how he’s handling the Du Plessis situation, but Adesanya says at least he’s capturing everyone’s attention.
“After my last fight (against Pereira), I grabbed the mic. People say it’s the best post-fight speech in history of the company, ever,” Adesanya said. “I grabbed the mic after his (Du Plessis) fight and people feel like, ‘Ah, it’s cringe.’ Bad look. This and that. Either way, I make you feel something.
“When I grab the mic and I really speak from the heart, or speak from my gut, I really make you feel something. Whether you love me or hate me, you will feel something. I’m not trying. I wasn’t. I just make sh*t happen because that’s how I feel, and I want to make it happen. I want to make him feel me. He doesn’t understand. … People say I turned heel. It’s not heel. I can just feel myself switch and the beast comes out.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.
