Israel Adesanya refers to an encounter about four months ago that sums up his rivalry with Dricus du Plessis.

“There was a South African guy in my taxi. And he said, ‘You know, when you and Dricus fight, I feel like I’ve won whether you win or he wins,'” Adesanya said.

“And I said ‘exactly’. And then we took a photo, it was a beautiful moment.”

The anticipation of Nigerian-born New Zealander Adesanya’s fight against South African Du Plessis at UFC 305 – the first all-African title fight in UFC history – was sobering.

Du Plessis, 30, claimed he was the UFC’s “first true African champion” – a comment that angered two-time UFC middleweight champion Adesanya, who once held titles alongside fellow Nigerian Kamaru Usman and Cameroonian Francis Ngannou.

Du Plessis clarified his comment by saying he is the first champion still living on the continent while Adesanya, Usman and Ngannou have all moved elsewhere. However, the bitterness remained during a charged pre-fight press conference.

But after a gripping main event in Perth, Australia, in which Du Plessis forced the 35-year-old Adesanya to submit and retained his middleweight title, the two put aside their differences and finally agreed that Africa was the true winner of the fight.

“I think Africa won tonight and as I said, he will inspire the next generation of African fighters, just like myself, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou inspired him to become African champion,” Adesanya said.