"I will never disrespect your parents" - Dricus du Plessis explains burying the hatchet with Israel Adesanya after UFC 305 bout

Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya appear to have settled their differences at UFC 305, with the South African expressing some regret over how his previous statements had come across. Following his fourth-round submission win over Adesanya, 'Stillknocks' embraced 'The Last Stylebender' in the cage.

The two shared reconciliatory words, with du Plessis later touching on their embrace at the post-fight press conference. He clarified that his intention had never been to disrespect his opponent, especially not the latter's parents, to whom du Plessis even spoke after handing Adesanya a South African-themed jacket.

"Let me tell you this. Like I said, at the end of the day, what I said was never to challenge Israel [Adesanya] or any other African fighter on being the first African fighter. It wasn't that. It was the first residing and that is still the fact. Nothing can change that. I know at the presser, when he got super emotional, that was within him."

First, du Plessis offered some clarity about his past remarks, which sparked the entire feud between him and Adesanya. More importantly though, he explained that he never intended to disrespect his rival's parents.

"I never went after his family, so I just wanted to make sure that... I have parents too, and I respect anybody's parents, so I just went over to him after the fight, 'If it sounded like I was saying anything bad about your parents, that was not the case. Yeah, what I'm saying to you, harden up, and if you want to cry about that, so be it. I will never disrespect your parents.' And he said, 'No, no, no.' He understands that."

Check out Dricus du Plessis clarifying his post-fight embrace with Israel Adesanya:

Ultimately, the two men came to an understanding after sharing the octagon, with both champions expressing respect for each other.

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Dricus du Plessis had a different tune before UFC 305

After his trash talk at the UFC 305 pre-fight presser drove Israel Adesanya to tears, Dricus du Plessis was, initially, completely unapologetic. During a backstage interview with FULL SEND MMA, the South African even described the exchange as a 10-7 round after being asked if he had any regrets.

"No, I take that as a 10-7 round and definitely no regrets."

Check out Dricus du Plessis' prior remarks about the UFC 305 pre-fight presser (1:41):

As for what drove Adesanya to tears, it was du Plessis bringing up the fact that 'The Last Stylebender' had childhood servants who helped him bathe.