Dricus du Plessis reveals meaning of post-fight gift to Israel Adesanya

Dricus du Plessis, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion, recently explained why he gifted a jacket to opponent Israel Adesanya after UFC 305.

Last weekend, du Plessis successfully retained his UFC middleweight championship by submitting Adesanya in a fight that was incredibly even for almost four rounds, BJPenn reported.

The fight was a back-and-forth affair and, at times, it seemed like Adesanya had the advantage. However, du Plessis was able to dig deep and pull out the kind of performance he needed to win.

Afterwards, the 30-year-old South African mixed martial arts professional shared a nice moment with 35-year-old Nigerian-New Zealand opponent backstage as he gifted him a jacket.

During a press conference after the match, du Plessis discussed the interaction.

Du Plessis told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC 305: "At the end of the day, what I said was never to challenge Israel or any other African fighter on being the first African fighter (to win a UFC title).

"It was the first African fighter residing, and that is still the fact. Nothing can change that. I know at the presser when he got super emotional — I never went after his family. I just wanted to make sure — I have parents, too, and I respect anybody's parents.

"I just went over to him and said after the fight, 'If it sounded like I said anything bad about your parents, that was not the case. What I'm saying to you? Harden up. If you want to cry about that, so be it. I will never disrespect your parents.'

Du Plessis explained that Adesanya, as a "warrior to a warrior," understood him. He added that despite not seeing "eye-to-eye", he respected Adesanya's accomplishment in the octagon.

Du Plessis added: "To give him that jacket was a reminder, a token of appreciation and a thank you for this. It's a memory for me. It's such a massive moment in my life fighting a great fighter like Israel Adesanya."