Dana White isn’t concerned about the racial tension between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis.
Over the past few months, the rivalry between Adesanya and Du Plessis has intensified since the latter voiced his goals of becoming the first UFC champion to live and train in Africa. At UFC 290, the tension between the top-tier middleweights increased shortly after ‘Stillknocks’ secured a third-round TKO against Robert Whittaker.
Du Plessis’ impressive win will likely lead to a fight with Adesanya for the 185-pound title. As a result, ‘The Last Stylebender’ stepped into the Octagon and faced off with the South African after defeating Whittaker.
During the UFC 290 post-event press conference, Dana White was asked about the decision to have Adesanya and Du Plessis face off. He responded by saying:
“There was a big debate over it. I didn’t wanna do it. First of all, what I don’t like to do is when you have somebody like Du Plessis who, big win for him, just beat the second-best guy in the world in that division, and then somebody is gonna get in his face and get aggressive with him again after they just got done getting out of war.”
Adesanya repeatedly used a racial slur to address Du Plessis’ past comments. The UFC president was asked about the racial tension between them, and he had this to say:
“What were the racial undertones?… He’s black, ok, he’s black. Who gives a sh*t? I could care less [about the racial tension between Adesanya and Du Plessis]. This is the fight business. Israel Adesanya can say whatever he wants to say. Who gives a sh*t? Why are people b*tching about that? Of course they are… Too f*cking bad.”
WARNING: The video below features NSFW language:
WTF IS ISRAEL ADESANYA SAYING 💀💀#UFC290 pic.twitter.com/gIUPFyKjCr
— Jmag (@Jmagings) July 9, 2023
Dana White plans to wait a few weeks before deciding if Dricus Du Plessis will fight at UFC 293
On August 9, the UFC returns to Sydney, Australia, for UFC 293. Israel Adesanya has been vocal about wanting to headline the event, but it’s unclear if Dricus Du Plessis will be available for the two-month turnaround.
During the UFC 290 post-fight press conference, Dana White had this to say about whether Du Plessis will be available to fight Adesanya in August:
“I don’t know. We gotta see. When you come out of a night like tonight, these fights were all tough wars. We will see how these guys feel… You gotta give these guys a couple weeks to go home and relax and let their bodies heal and spend some time with their families. It’s just things you don’t talk about right after the fight.”
Du Plessis made his UFC debut in October 2020. Since then, the South African fighter has silenced the doubters with six consecutive wins, including five inside the distance. ‘Stillknocks’ looks to continue building momentum by dethroning Adesanya in his next Octagon appearance.
