South Africa's Drix du Plessis won the championship on Sunday, beating Israel Adesanya of New Zealand.
After a tense bout, the Mzansi professional fighter choked out his opponent in the penultimate round to retain his UFC middleweight world title.
The 30-year-old was escorted into the Octagon by Springbok rugby stars Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth as his country's national anthem rang out in the auditorium.
After the game, the players displayed good sportsmanship and showed respect and love for themselves, which was seen in videos that went viral on social media.
“For me, [it was an honour] “To be able to share this Octagon with a legend. Chances are, he'll be in the Hall of Fame for sure. This guy has done so much for the sport,” du Plessis said after his win.
“I'm really sorry that it was perceived as disrespecting the fact that he's from Africa. That was never my intention. Africa would have won tonight anyway… but South Africa won tonight,” he added.
Adesanya acknowledged the loss, saying, “I'm disappointed but at the same time I'm proud because I felt and looked the best I've ever felt. My opponent was the better fighter tonight so I respect him for that.”
🚨💥#UFC305 DRICUS DU PLESSIS Rest Champion 🏆🔥#Dorikas du Plessis #ufc pic.twitter.com/5jH5MAZTOF
— West Fighting (@West_fighting) August 18, 2024
Once again, from the bottom of my heart
thank you @Drake 🤣 pic.twitter.com/bcSiOjGezd— Dricus du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) August 18, 2024