Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Dricus du Plessis of SA lands a punch on Israel Adesanya of Nigeria during their middleweight title bout at UFC 305 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Picture: EPA/RICHARD WAINWRIGHT
Perth — Springboks Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth “lost it” when mixed martial arts star Dricus du Plessis defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title in the Perth Arena on Sunday.
Captain Kolisi and lock Etzebeth jumped up and down, screaming jubilantly as they watched Du Plessis retain his title after a fourth-round submission win over No 2 contender Israel Adesanya.
The Boks, who on Saturday thrashed Australia 30-12 in their Rugby Championship Test, looked formidable as they escorted Du Plessis, draped in an SA flag into the octagon as Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika was played in the arena.
The MMA fighter, who became the first South African to win a UFC title when he claimed victory over US star Sean Strickland at the Scotiabank Arena in Canada in January, is reported to have said, when asked about the SA government “it is far ahead in being the worst government in the world” and “we are exceptionally [bad] at being a government”.
But on Sunday thousands of South Africans were celebrating the victory, including minister of sport, arts & culture Gayton McKenzie who took to social media to post: “This is who we are as South Africans, one nation & sport crazy.”
McKenzie thanked Du Plessis for his lost voice and hinted of a UFC fight in SA in the near future. He said the department met UFC officials in Australia where they were ironing out details before an official announcement about a fight on “home soil”.
In a highly anticipated main event that lived up to the billing, Adesanya — the former champion who was fighting for the first time since September 2023 — took two of the first three rounds on one scorecard, while two other judges had Du Plessis leading 2-1 in rounds.
But with little more than a minute-and-a-half left in the fourth, Du Plessis landed three consecutive rights to send Adesanya stumbling around the octagon. Du Plessis then took Adesanya to the mat, jumped on his back and put a chokehold on his opponent.
Adesanya tapped out with 1 min 22 sec left in the round.
HIS FIRST TITLE DEFENSE IN STYLE 🇿🇦🏆@DricusDuPlessis defeats Israel Adesanya by Submission to remain the MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Kolisi and Etzebeth roar as Dricus defends crown
Perth — Springboks Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth “lost it” when mixed martial arts star Dricus du Plessis defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title in the Perth Arena on Sunday.
Captain Kolisi and lock Etzebeth jumped up and down, screaming jubilantly as they watched Du Plessis retain his title after a fourth-round submission win over No 2 contender Israel Adesanya.
The Boks, who on Saturday thrashed Australia 30-12 in their Rugby Championship Test, looked formidable as they escorted Du Plessis, draped in an SA flag into the octagon as Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika was played in the arena.
The MMA fighter, who became the first South African to win a UFC title when he claimed victory over US star Sean Strickland at the Scotiabank Arena in Canada in January, is reported to have said, when asked about the SA government “it is far ahead in being the worst government in the world” and “we are exceptionally [bad] at being a government”.
But on Sunday thousands of South Africans were celebrating the victory, including minister of sport, arts & culture Gayton McKenzie who took to social media to post: “This is who we are as South Africans, one nation & sport crazy.”
McKenzie thanked Du Plessis for his lost voice and hinted of a UFC fight in SA in the near future. He said the department met UFC officials in Australia where they were ironing out details before an official announcement about a fight on “home soil”.
In a highly anticipated main event that lived up to the billing, Adesanya — the former champion who was fighting for the first time since September 2023 — took two of the first three rounds on one scorecard, while two other judges had Du Plessis leading 2-1 in rounds.
But with little more than a minute-and-a-half left in the fourth, Du Plessis landed three consecutive rights to send Adesanya stumbling around the octagon. Du Plessis then took Adesanya to the mat, jumped on his back and put a chokehold on his opponent.
Adesanya tapped out with 1 min 22 sec left in the round.
It was Du Plessis’ first successful title defence as the 30-year-old improved to 22-2-0 in his career. Adesanya is now 24-4-0 overall.
Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
A good week for Dricus du Plessis
Bruised and triumphant, Dricus du Plessis is SA’s latest world champ
Banxso announces official sponsorship of MMA world champion Dricus du Plessis
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.