Dricus Du Plessis during his fight with Usman Dricus Du Plessis
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has praised Dricus Du Plessis following his dominant unanimous decision win over Kamaru Usmanc, describing it as the best performance he has seen from the <a href="https://absafricatv.com/weather-isolated-to-scattered-showers-expected-in-south-africa/” title=”WEATHER: Isolated to scattered showers expected in South Africa”>South African.
Du Plessis controlled the five-round contest against former welterweight champion Usman to secure a clear-cut victory on Saturday night.
Despite his long-standing friendship with Usman and a previous rivalry with Du Plessis, Adesanya said he was impressed by the champion’s performance.
“It is the best I have seen Dricus look. He looked less out of position when he finished punching, when he initiated punching. Sometimes he still did his thing, but he looked really good. Some of the shots he was throwing, the selection, and the timing of the knee for that single-leg, that was a good chess move from their team,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel.
“I wanted Kamaru to get it done, but again, it just shows how good Dricus is. And good on him.”
Adesanya and Du Plessis previously shared a heated rivalry centred on comments about African identity, which had added extra significance to Saturday’s fight, though relations between the pair have since improved.
Adesanya said the result carried wider benefits for African representation in the sport, noting that whenever two African fighters headline a card, the continent tunes in regardless of the event’s stature, a trend he believes will help expand the talent pool in African mixed martial arts.
Peter, who has been covering sports for PUNCH for close to two years, focuses on combat sports reporting, special features and human angle stories
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