[imagesource:siyakolisi/instagram]
South Africans had two reasons to celebrate this weekend after the Springboks dismantled the Aussies on Saturday, followed by Dricus du Plessis successfully defending his middleweight title in Perth on Sunday.
Only hours after their Rugby Championship win over the Wallabies, Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth were in attendance for the du Plessis match, even walking out with the elite UFC fighter.
With Eben and Siya at his back, it was perhaps inevitable that Du Plessis eventually beat his opponent, the Nigerian-born Israel Adesanya.
Walking Du Plessis to the Octagon at UFC 305, the experienced Springboks forwards donned tracksuits while the fighter had a South Africa flag draped over his shoulders.
Dricus du Plessis walks out with Siya Kolisi and Eben etsebeth to the national anthem
Dricus Du Plessis (South Africa) vs Israel Adesanya (Nigeria) #dricusduplessis pic.twitter.com/7tgFvuWg0T
— News Live SA (@newslivesa) August 18, 2024
Etzebeth and Kolisi were stern-faced for the walk-out but were unsurprisingly thrilled when Du Plessis won the fight by submission to retain his middleweight title.
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The all-African fight was scheduled to serve a US audience and subsequently took place in the early hours of Sunday South African time. It wasn’t just Kolisi and Etzebeth in attendance for the fight as Springboks great Bryan Habana was also in Australia after being a pundit for the Wallabies meeting in Perth.
Wat n voorreg
@dricusduplessis… jy is n LEGEND!!!! #EnoughSaid#HulleWeetNieWatOnsWeetNie pic.twitter.com/pPTAjrd8FV
— Bryan Habana (@BryanHabana) August 18, 2024
All-in-all, not a bad weekend for South Africans down under.
[source:planetrugby]
