UFC middleweight Dricus Du Plessis had just locked in the biggest win of his career. On the main card at UFC 290, he knocked out former champion Robert Whittaker, carving a clear path to a title shot for the South African fighter.
That’s when reigning champ Israel Adesanya entered the Octagon, delivering a profanity-laden rant aimed directly at Du Plessis. In a recent interview, Du Plesis offered his take on the “drunk” ramble.
Dricus Du Plessis on “Drunk” Adesanya UFC 290 Cage Invasion
“There’s people looking up to you as champion, I believe, and that was my statement afterward, saying, ‘You behaved like a child and a clown, behave like a man.’ You are an example to people all over the world.
One of the biggest stars in sports. Not only in this sport, in sports. So, he talked about the vibe somewhere in this whole saga but doing something going with racial slurs does not belong in sports.
It doesn’t belong in the world, in my opinion. I do not want that a part of anything that I’m doing. This sport is so amazing and has given so many people so much things, and bringing [in] race, color, with racial slurs, all of that stuff, immediately made me like, ‘I don’t want to be a part of this.’
That’s why I just walked away. I’m not gonna engage in that. That is not the example I want to set for people. That is not what my message to anybody in the world is. I guess he can do whatever he wants. Dana [White] said it.
He can say whatever he wants. He can. I’m just not entertaining that. I’m not entertaining any talk about the racial slurs that he’s been using.”
Du Plessis continued: “He was drunk, I guess. I hope so for his part.
They [White and Hunter Campbell] were just like, ‘Is this a good idea?’ Because they didn’t want to take the moment away from myself and Rob, which I understand but it didn’t feel like that to me.
To me, it felt like, ‘Give me my next target.’ I said it before, I hoped he’d get in that cage because he’ll feel my energy when I’m in that cage. He’s gonna see how big I am in that cage. Now I’ve seen him in that cage and I felt his energy.
There’s only one time you see your opponent in a cage and that’s when you fight him. Now I’ve seen him before the fight. Now I’ve felt what he feels like in the cage and my man is in trouble, I’ll tell you that.
And he knows it. You can feel that energy. Especially that energy that you’re feeling after you’ve just knocked out Robert Whittaker.”
