A clown and a child, not a champion, criticizes Adesanya his next opponent Du Plessis. Racial undertones from the champion? He can say whatever he wants, the UFC boss is clear

UFC 290 offered many interesting moments. The two title fights, however, were partially overshadowed by the action before them. Dricus Du Plessis surprised and defeated Robert Whittaker. He was followed into the cage by Israel Adesanya, who wasn’t afraid of racial innuendo. What did the champion’s rival or the UFC boss have to say?

Is there a battle for Africa ahead? It already looks like it. Dricus Du Plessis claimed a title shot with a great performance against Robert Whittaker. Plus, he’s been eyeing a title fight for a while now.

Israel Adesanya was already his target a few months ago. He is said to be a fake African even though he was born in Nigeria where he lived for several years after his birth. It was not difficult for the champion to take Du Plessis’ statement personally.

It is worth noting that Du Plessis represents South Africa. Given his white skin colour, Adesanya at least has something to fall back on through his allusions to “Africanness”. But he goes way over the edge.

He has previously said that he will beat a South African until he turns black. When Du Plessis beat Whittaker, the champion followed him into the cage. UFC boss Dana White revealed that Last Stylebender promised him he would do no wrong.

But would he keep that promise? You can’t say that. He used a word beginning with the letter “n” several times. The situation easily escalated. You could see how personal this was for the champion.

Du Plessis didn’t say much in the cage. He more or less just said that even though Adesanya was from Africa, he was definitely not his brother. But he did talk more at the press conference. He condemned his rival’s behaviour.

“He knows I am a champion. When he sees me in the cage, he sees how strong I am. He feels the energy, I feel how insignificant he is to me. He acts like a clown. That’s not how a champion acts. That’s not how a man acts. He acts like a child,” the South African said.

“There are people who look up to you and you behave like this? If it sells tickets, good for you. But I’m going to do it my way. I’m honest, I’m a man and I’m going to behave accordingly. I’m going to terminate you,” he told the champion.

And what did White have to say about the middleweight king’s behavior? He didn’t perceive any racial overtones. “Who said the word ‘no’? Israel is dark-skinned, so it doesn’t matter. This is just business. Adesanya can say anything he wants,” he said, surprised by his reaction.

Rather good for the UFC, anyway. The fight will get attention, it will be heated. It’s just a matter of when and where it will take place. Adesanya wanted it on the African continent. Will it happen?

Source: UFC, Twitter