Du Plessis’ Win Over Adesanya A Triumph For African MMA

Dricus du Plessis’ successful middleweight title defence over the great Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth on Sunday was a triumph not only for South African mixed martial arts, but African MMA as a whole, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

History was made at the RAC Arena on Sunday as South Africa’s Du Plessis and Nigerian-born Adesanya settled the score in the first-ever all-African UFC title fight.

The build-up to the historic bout was explosive and emotional. The beef between the two warriors started in 2020 when Du Plessis said in an interview that he’d become “the first real African champion.” The comment enraged Adesanya, who regarded it as disrespect to him and his fellow African UFC champions at the time, Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou, who held the heavyweight title, and Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman, who reigned at welterweight.

Du Plessis clarified that he meant he’d become the first fighter born and based in Africa to win a UFC title, given that the “Three Kings” as the aforementioned trio are known, had resided and trained abroad, Adesanya in New Zealand, Ngannou in Paris and Usman in America.

It’s unfortunate that this formed the basis of the rivalry but, as is the beauty of combat sport, the beef was squashed after the pair went to war in a fantastic main event showdown. Both men brought their A game in Australia, Du Plessis displaying his power and complete skill set and Adesanya showcasing his renowned kickboxing prowess in a back-and-forth battle.

Du Plessis, unorthodox and bullish, held his own on the feet, scoring with blitzes, kicks and right hands and constantly switching stances. Adesanya, in turn, was a smooth tactician, using his range, fight IQ, switch-hitting and array of striking techniques to do damage of his own as he sought to become the first-ever three-time 185-pound champion.

Entering the championship rounds, the scorecards were very close, with Du Plessis up 29-28 from two judges and the third official scoring it 29-28 for Adesanya. “The Last Stylebender” had shown heart to escape a submission attempt in the second round and had done brilliant work to the body, whereas Du Plessis had married striking and takedowns effectively.

In the end, it took true South African grit as “Stillknocks” bit down on his mouthpiece, marched forward, connected with a trifecta of heavy right hands, dragged Adesanya to the ground and sunk in a textbook rear-naked choke to finish the fight in the fourth round and become the first man to submit the future Hall of Famer.

Du Plessis, South Africa’s first UFC champion, had proven his superiority and ascended to another level, having made his first title defence and defeated one of the greatest fighters in UFC history. Adesanya had also done himself proud, coming back strong after the longest lay-off of his career.

Having battled it out, the two embraced inside the Octagon, showing each other nothing but respect and proving like iconic former South African president Nelson Mandela once said, “Sport has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”

As Du Plessis, who improved to 22-2 and extended his unbeaten run in the UFC to eight, said afterwards, Africa would’ve won regardless of the outcome, but that it was the Pretoria-based pugilist who prevailed will mean more for African MMA.

UFC president Dana White had said in the week leading up to the fight that if Du Plessis won, the world’s pre-eminent MMA promotion would hold its first African event in South Africa. Mzanzi fight fans can now look forward to finally seeing Octagon action on home soil soon.

However, Du Plessis’ win was a triumph for African MMA as a whole as it proved that a fighter can, with unyielding determination and the right team, reach the highest of heights in the sport without having to move abroad. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong or unpatriotic about setting sail and getting expert coaching abroad, however, Du Plessis has shown that that’s no longer the only path to UFC glory.

As a result, MMA gyms in Africa will only grow stronger and promotions around the world will look more favourably upon African fighters than ever before, creating more opportunities for sons of the soil to shine on international arenas and ultimately taking the sport in Africa to new heights.

African fight fans should praise both Du Plessis and Adesanya for the historic humdinger they put on, for the former’s grace in victory and the latter’s class in defeat, and for the duo burying the hatched after their war. United they now stand, and so should supporters of both of these amazing athletes.

The “Stillknocks” era is now well and truly upon us. The fighting pride of South Africa stands tall as the undisputed king of the middleweights, having become the only man to beat Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, the two most accomplished 185-pounders of the modern era, and having stretched his overall win streak to 10.

Next up is another wild ride, with Du Plessis set to run it back with unfiltered American Sean Strickland – the man he dethroned for the belt by split decision in January – as the Octagon touches down on African soil for the first time, most likely sometime early next year.

Quintin van Jaarsveld

Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.