Dricus Du Plessis finished Robert Whitaker at UFC 290 in dramatic fashion, and looked absolutely phenomenal while doing it.
No sign of cardio or breathing issues, his footwork was on fleek and I honestly think Whitaker wasn't ready for his speed in the exchanges.
However, the most notable parts of Dricus' night happened shortly after the bout had concluded. Du Plessis would step outside and shake hands with Dana White, had his customary trash talk with Adesanya, who was present in the audience, and also embraced Donald Trump.
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To be fair, Dricus was the first to politicize this fight.
4 months ago, when Dricus made comments about being the only real African in the UFC, he opened a can of worms to a conversation that is far more nuanced than just training and living in Africa.
Du Plessis comments at the time were directed to Kamaru Usman but the reality is that living in Africa and living as an African are two different things, but he wasn't alone in his faults either.
When Adesanya entered the ring and started using the "n-word", I did not like it.
Adesanya has in the past, said that he views himself as multi-cultural having embraced Australian and Chinese culture, based on where he grew up, and that's fine, but you cannot then turn around and downplay the multicultural aspects of how someone else views themself.
What you have here, are two guys who have public platforms because of their talents, but neither of whom is very well schooled on thier politics, hence the stupidity of their post-match interaction even if it does make their upcoming fight more interesting.
However, with well over 3 months still to go before the fight, and plenty of marketing, promotion and interviews to be done until then, you just have the feeling that this one will ramp up in intensity on the road to fight night, and it certainly does have the potential to turn nasty.
"UFC 290: Volkanovski vs Rodriguez - A Fight for the Ages!"
Introduction
Welcome to the exciting world of mixed martial arts! The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has been captivating audiences around the globe with its intense fights and skilled athletes. In this article, we will dive into the much-anticipated event, UFC 290: Volkanovski vs Rodriguez. Get ready to witness two top fighters clash inside the Octagon for glory and the championship…