UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya turned heads and earned headlines when he invaded the Octagon at UFC 290. Adesanya forced his way into the cage following Dricus Du Plessis’ knockout win over former champ Robert Whittaker, explaining on his YouTube channel that he simply “lost his sh*t.”
“I felt myself turn. He worked hard. I manifest for myself, and I make sure I do the work to get that manifestation right.
“I Just Lost My Sh*t!” Israel Adesanya Opens Up About UFC 290 Cage Invasion
It’s not just sit there and like, ‘Kumbaya, ooh this is going to happen,’ I do the work. And, it’s not frustrating, but I feel bad for people. I just do because I’m like, ‘Bro, you don’t even tap into these things and they’re available constantly.’
So when it happened I was like, f*** yes. I was just urging him on [to go] forward, forward, forward. Even at the prep point, I was giving him energy, like, ‘F*** yeah, positive affirmations, let’s go.’
When it happened, I just lost my s***.” Now, Adesanya is set to defend his title against Du Plessis at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.
Adesanya took issue with Du Plessis, a white South African, declaring himself the “real African in the UFC”, despite Adesanya hailing from Nigeria.
When Adesanya entered the Octagon, he grabbed the microphone and repeatedly called Du Plessis “my n*****,” earning the ire of some online commentators.
“You know what’s funny? After my last fight and I grab the [microphone], and people say it’s the best post-fight speech in the history of the company, ever, and I grab the [microphone] after his fight and people feel like, ‘Oh, it’s cringe, bad look,’ this and that.
Either way, I make you feel something. I speak from the heart, I speak from my gut and I really make you feel something. Love me, or hate me, you will feel something. I find that really interesting.
I’m not trying, I wasn’t. I just make s*** happen. That’s how I feel and I want to make it happen. I want to make him feel me. I was telling him, ‘feel me, feel me,’ because I was making that turn. People say I turned heel, no, I just felt myself switch and the beast comes out.
He’ll feel me — more than my energy. He’ll feel me for real.” Adesanya made it clear in the lead up to the fight that he wants to face Du Plessis, and is now looking forward to his next title defense.
“Shout out to Dricus for working hard to get that win. Not a lot of people were picking him to win, but I was picking him..”
