“He acted like a clown – that’s not how a champion should behave,” the South African said at a press conference after the UFC 290 tournament held in Las Vegas. “He acted like a child. If that’s how he sells tickets, that’s his business. I will sell tickets in my own way. I’m a gentleman and I’ll act like a man”
According to Du Plessis, Adesanya showed weakness by going to him in the cage.
“Usually applicants go to the cage, right? So even he already sees me as a champion. He knows that I am a champion and sees this strength in me. Today he felt my energy, and I felt how insignificant he is for me in this cage.
Also, Du Plessis, who finished Whittaker with a technical knockout in the second round, made it clear that he was not going to bring the fight with the Nigerian to a judge’s decision.
“I will knock him out just like I did tonight. And if I translate it, it will no longer be a fight, but a beating. What did his last performance against Whittaker look like? Yes, he beat him, but it was a close fight. What was my performance against Whittaker like? That’s how I’m going to beat him.”
“I will follow the fight plan, stick to my style, listen to my coaches and do what I do best. My style seems completely wrong to a lot of people, but now I’m the number one contender in the world, so it’s time to show respect to him.”
Initially, it was assumed that the winner of the contenders fight will meet the champion on September 9 at UFC 293 in Sydney, however, UFC President Dana White said that this issue has not yet been finally resolved.
“I do not know yet. It’s too early to talk about anything. Let’s give the guy a couple of weeks to rest and recover, and then we’ll see how everything goes,” the head of the organization said, answering journalists’ questions after the event.