South Africa's Minister of Sports Gayton McKenzie responds to Ryan Garcia's unwavering support for Dricus du Plessis during UFC 305

Boxing star Ryan Garcia has seen his support for Dricus du Plessis rewarded, after Gayton McKenzie, South Africa's Minister of Sports, extended an offer and his thanks to him.

Prior to UFC 305 last weekend, 'KingRy' shared his official prediction on social media. In multiple tweets, he had opted to back du Plessis to successfully defend his middleweight title against Israel Adesanya, and asked fans to thank him when their bets came in. He tweeted:

"I have a sense that Israel Adesanya loses Saturday. Thank me when that bet give you a return."

Check out Garcia's tweet, courtesy of @MMAUNCENSORED1, here:

'Stillknocks' then went on to prove Garcia's backing correct, as he faced-off against Adesanya at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia last Saturday.

The pair went to war in an epic back-and-forth contest that eventually saw du Plessis get his hand raised in the fourth round. The 30-year-old managed to take down and lock in a face crank submission on the Nigerian New Zealander, handing Adesanya the first submission loss of his career.

Following Dricus du Plessis' win, McKenzie, took to X to respond to Ryan Garcia. He extended his thanks and invited him to be a special guest in the country when du Plessis next fights there. He tweeted:

"I'm going to invite you [Ryan Garcia] as a special guest to our lovely country South Africa for the next fight on home soil for @dricusduplessis, thanks for supporting us, we shall revenge your kindness up your arrival here."

Check out McKenzie's tweet here:

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Dricus du Plessis responds to Drake losing a massive bet against him

Dricus du Plessis recently expressed his happiness, after learning that hip-hop megastar Drake had lost a significant amount of money betting on Israel Adesanya to defeat him.

The Canadian rapper has become something of a meme amongst the fight community, with his betting on fights often referred to as the 'Drake Curse'. This is due to more often than not, any fighter he places a large bet on, typically loses in the octagon.

Despite a fairly mixed history of success with bettings on the UFC, Drake still opted to back Adesanya to get the job done. The rapper confirmed on social media he had placed a $450,000 on the 35-year-old to win.

Following the fight, which saw du Plessis walk away victorious, the middleweight champion took to X to revel in the fact he had cost Drake a large sum of money:

"From the bottom of my heart once again THANK YOU @Drake🤣"

Check out Dricus du Plessis' post here: