Israel Adesanya is the definition of MMA cultural cringe. Although he has shown a pattern of bad decision-making when on large platforms for his sport, this weekend’s post-fight faceoff with Dricus du Plessis could be the worst.
South African fighter Dricus du Plessis, the No. 1 UFC middleweight contender, defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 on Saturday. The fight occurred during the annual UFC International Fight Week: an event that drew the combat sports organization’s usual star fan, the ever-polarizing Donald Trump.
Du Plessis began speaking about his accomplishment after scoring a win that would place him in line for a middleweight title shot against Adesanya. At the same time, Adesanya waited behind him in the Octagon.
Bad Form
When Adesanya got his chance, he turned up in the worst possible way, live on television and in front of a majority MAGA-loving crowd.
“This is my African brother right here,” Adesanya said, sounding slightly slurred, possibly from inebriation. “What’s up, na? Yeah, n***a!” he said repeatedly to the crowd’s roar. “F**k you going to do, n***a? Yeah, my African brother.”
Du Plessis responded, “I’m African but I ain’t no brother of yours son.”
Israel kept the shenanigans going.
“Yeah, you my n***a for real. I’ll show you who the African is,” Adesanya said while being held back.
Du Plessis then shot at the fact that the Nigerian-born Adesanya lives in New Zealand. Du Plessis was born in South Africa and currently lives and trains there.
“I don’t need a DNA test; I don’t need a 26 and me to know where I’m from. If I do a 26 and me it will say I’m from Nigeria. If you do a 26 and me test it will tell you where you’re from; I will show you where you’re from,” Adesanya screamed.
Adesanya has taken offense to du Plessis’ assertion in the past that he is more African than Adesanya, since Israel lives in New Zealand, saying, “that’s an African champion, and that’s who I’ll be,” if he defeats Adesanya and wins his title.
Missed Opportunity
Adesanya discussed his frustration with du Plessis, who sidestepped the cruel history of colonialism and apartheid to assert his African nationality.
“I never questioned his ethnicity,” Adesanya said last month on “The MMA Hour.” “I never said he’s not African, even though colonization — we don’t want to go over all that stuff. He is in Africa, he was born in South Africa, and I never questioned that.”
“But the fact that he was being a d**khead, ‘We know who the real African is, I breathe African air,’ all that kind of stuff — how the f**k are you going to question me, Francis (Ngannou), and Kamaru’s (Usman) blackness or African-ness?” Adesanya. “Who the f*** are you? So I had to put that out there. I want to educate him.”
However, goading du Plessis with an often-used negative term in the endearment tense to show that he cannot return it is a childish way to prove any cultural point. Adesanya also permitted Joe Rogan to say the N-word after being controversial for saying it on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Adesanya has gone on record plenty of times saying he is not a role model, and is right. Because what could have been a moment to educate the world on the human rights struggle that existed through South African colonialism turned into a cringing mess courtesy of The Last Stylebender.
