Israel Adesanya does not have any feelings of resentment toward UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis anymore. Ahead of their fight at UFC 305, DDP’s dig talking about who the ‘Real African Champion’ was, could have led to a saga of bitterness. However, like true professional athletes, they buried the hatchet after the fight.
Comedian Andrew Schulz asked Izzy if he still had a beef with the champ. The former belt holder revealed that a nice chat after their bout sorted things out between him and Du Plessis.
“Yeah we’re cool….Just like a moment and at the end, he said, ‘If you’re ever in South Africa tap in’, and I was like yeah sure,” said Adesanya.
This is not to say that things will be mellow if they end up fighting each other again. As a fighter, the loss would still be haunting Adesanya deep down. His comeback journey has been halted, after all.
The Nigerian-origin New Zealander has since claimed that he doesn’t need a title anymore. However, if the opportunity comes his way, and if DDP is still holding the title, then a bout can happen, possibly reigniting the feud.
As of now, Adesanya is content not fighting the South African. Much like how he was happy sidestepping a random man looking for a tiff on the street.
Adesanya talks about the street argument video
A few weeks back, a video of Adesanya confronting a man on the sidewalk went viral on social media. The pair had a tense argument which was filmed by an onlooker.
Israel Adesanya a été filmé en pleine altercation avec un autre conducteur en Nouvelle-Zélande.
L’homme en face n’a pas l’air de savoir à qui il se frotte… pic.twitter.com/zlDCB3UMCc
— REVOLUTION MMA (@RevolutionMMA_) September 5, 2024
The clip ended with The Last Stylebender avoiding any escalation. Izzy explained the matter later, saying that the man was trying to pick a fight with him when he was out shopping, buying a pie.
“If he spat back at me then it’s on. But again, I’m glad I had a good day, I don’t like street fights, I don’t like confrontations but if you bring the problem then Imma solve the problem.”
Izzy became the larger man, got into his car, and left. The former UFC champ then joked about the incident, saying that he fights for millions and not for free.
