White fighter Dricus du Plessis accuses Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya of being fake Africans
White fighter labeled racist after accusing UFC superstars Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya of being FAKE Africans: ‘He’s trying to erase them from history’
- Fighter questions authenticity of former champions
- Du Plessis says he is the UFC’s true African fighter
- Du Plessis is currently undefeated in the UFC
South African MMA star Dricus du Plessis has questioned the authenticity of former African-born champions Francis Ngannou, Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman in a shocking outburst.
Du Plessis, who took his seventh consecutive win over Derek Brunson at UFC 285 last weekend, is targeting a shot at the middleweight title – and believes winning the belt would make him the first true African champion.
“Did those belts ever go to Africa? As far as I know, they came to America and New Zealand. I’m going to take a belt to Africa,” he said of the titles won by the trio on a recent media day.
“I am the African fighter in the UFC. Myself and Cameron (Saaiman, teammate of Du Plessis), we breathe African air. We wake up every day in Africa. We train in Africa, we were born in Africa, we were raised in Africa. We still live in Africa, we train from Africa. That’s an African champion, and that’s who I will be.’
South African MMA star Dricus du Plessis is set to win a UFC title soon and has questioned the authenticity of the three former African champions before him
Du Plessis, who took his seventh consecutive win this weekend with a knockout victory over Derek Brunson at UFC 285, is targeting a shot at the middleweight title
Du Plessis’ comments have angered some MMA fighters, including Nigerian-American featherweight Sodiq Yusuff.
Yusuff shared a video of Du Plessis noting that it was “like playing in a mirror,” prompting another Twitter user to accuse him of being racist.
“You are literally watching a video with a man trying to erase Africans from history and replace them with himself. Mental gymnastics to call me racist is hilarious,’ Yusuff replied.
Former UFC fighter Mike Jackson also objected to the South African’s comments.
“The white vulnerability in this one. Super unnecessary,” he responded to a video.
However, other fight fans find Du Plessis’ comments reasonable.
‘I don’t understand what people don’t understand! You don’t have to be black to be African. He and Cameron are true Africans, more African than Usman and Izzy combined. They grew up there, live there and even train there,” said one Twitter user
“Africa is a location, if you are born in it you are African,” another commented.
Du Plessis’ comments have angered some MMA fighters, including Nigerian-American featherweight Sodiq Yusuff (Ngannou and Adesanya pictured posing with belts)
However, many fight fans find Du Plessis’s comments reasonable and have expressed their support online (African-born former champions Francis Ngannou, Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman pictured together in 2022)
“It’s funny that a white African can’t be an African because he’s white, but that’s exactly the logic racists use about black people in Europe,” said a third.
Du Plessis’ victory over No. 5 Brunson is the biggest win of his career and will move him into the top 10 and into title contention.
The middleweight contender told reporters after his recent win that a title shot is not far off and his results in the Octagon speak for themselves.
“It’s absolutely amazing to come out of a team in South Africa and with a style that people think, ‘Eh, he’s not really good,'” said Du Plessis.
“Well, I’m number 5. I just beat number 5 in the world. So yes, I’m that good. My team, we are so good. That’s what this means to me.
“This is not about winning or being in the top five. We don’t celebrate that. But what we celebrate is that we are so good.’