As the iconic striker looks to become the promotion’s first three-time middleweight champion this weekend at UFC 305, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is taking issue with a disappointing decision by the UFC.
On August 10, the UFC 305 Countdown documentary was released on YouTube, with fans quick to spot a controversial cut in the editing from the pre-fight press conference between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya.
The UFC 305 Countdown appeared to ‘edit out’ mention of Ngannou
Specifically, the clip in question showed ‘Sylebender’ lamenting Du Plessis for his ‘disrespecting’ of the Three Kings, i.e., Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou.
However, the inclusion of Ngannou in Adesanya’s statement was removed from the final Countdown cut, leading to widespread condemnation from the fanbase as to what they perceived to be the UFC attempting to ‘erase’ the former heavyweight champion.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time that the promotion has been accused of trying to discredit the achievements of ‘The Predator’.
Fans were also quick to point to when 6-4 middleweight Tafon Nchukwi was labeled by a UFC graphic as the ‘Only Cameroonian Fighter in UFC History’ despite both Francis Ngannou and Thierry Sokoudjou having already competed years prior.
Now, Adesanya is firing back at the UFC over the editing out of the iconic heavyweight.
- Who is Israel Adesanya? Step inside the career of the ‘Last Stylebender’ ahead of his UFC Saudi Arabia main event
Israel Adesanya condemns UFC over ‘erasing’ Ngannou from MMA history
Considering both their intertwined legacies and close friendship, Israel Adesanya had some stern words over the controversial editing of Francis Ngannou from the UFC history books.
“You can never erase Francis’ history from the UFC – I’ll say that,” he told ESPN MMA.
“It’s part of history. We need to fix this. I don’t like that. I don’t like the fact that we’re just trying to cut out a really important part of history. It’s silly. But we’ll fix that. That’s for later on but we’ll fix that.”
In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, Adesanya stated that Dricus Du Plessis “wouldn’t even be champion without us [three kings],” adding that whilst the South African remains ungrateful for them paving the way, come Saturday night “I’ll make sure he is.”
At the pre-fight media day, Adesanya expanded upon his thoughts on the ‘erasing of history’, noting that whilst he understands the UFC is in competition with the PFL, he condemns any attempt to either ‘whitewash’ or ignore the achievements of the heavyweight superstar.
“I respect Francis so much, he’s an inaugural part of what we’ve done in the UFC. Right now, I know that there’s competition between other promotions and the UFC, and battles but again – you can never erase history; the streets [and] the internet will always remember no matter what.
“I think that they will fix this eventually but it’s just a lot of chest-puffing,” he stated, adding how “The UFC are smart people, and they’ll rectify this eventually.”
Francis Ngannou’s return to MMA action has only recently been confirmed for October 19, with ‘The Predator’ set to face PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira in the main event of ‘Battle of the Giants’.
“You can’t erase Francis’ legacy in the UFC, it’s part of what we’ve done, and it’s forever written in history in stone so trying to whitewash it or not talk about it is silly.
“I know he’s fighting for the PFL right now but it’s still history, you can’t just turn a blind eye to it so again, I’m sure they’ll fix it eventually – this is how business goes with the UFC.”
Israel Adesanya vs Dricus Du Plessis goes down this Saturday live from the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia in the main event of UFC 305.
- EXCLUSIVE: Adesanya reveals where his feud with Du Plessis ranks among the greatest rivalries of his career