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Megan Anderson recently responded to a former UFC champion's decision to rank Dricus Du Plessis as the top fighter on the list of the best African fighters.
During the UFC 297 Weigh-In Show on Friday, former middleweight champion Chris Weidman placed 'Stillknocks' in the top spot on his list of the best African fighters on the UFC roster.
Weidman's rankings featured Israel Adesanya in the second position, followed by Kamaru Usman at No. 3. Additionally, the list included Francis Ngannou and Sodiq Yusuff at the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
The rankings prompted a reaction from the former women's featherweight title challenger on X:
"I'm sorry... but WHHAAATTTTTT!?!??! This has to be a troll, right?!?!?"
Check out Megan Anderson's tweet below:
Hailing from South Africa, 'Stillknocks' stirred controversy last year by expressing skepticism about the African identity of Usman, Adesanya, and Ngannou. Despite the fact that all three former champions were born in Africa, Du Plessis contested their assertion of being African representatives while living and training abroad.
Affiliated with Team CIT MMA in Pretoria near Johannesburg, Du Plessis asserted that he is the only authentic African fighter in the UFC, insinuating that others were merely adopting the African label.
Dricus Du Plessis offers candid response to Israel Adesanya's UFC 290 N-word incident
Dricus Du Plessis looks to be unconcerned by Israel Adesanya's racially charged language at UFC 290 last July.
Following Du Plessis' stoppage win against Robert Whittaker, Adesanya entered the octagon and directed a series of profanities at the South African fighter. While a physical altercation was avoided, the explicit language used carried an unsettling racial undertone.
Check out the confrontation video below (2:18):
After the incident, Du Plessis referred to 'The Last Stylebender' as a "clown" and condemned his conduct as unsuitable for a champion, asserting that such actions resemble childish behavior. However, 'Stillknocks' now appears to downplay the comments made by the former middleweight champion.
During an exclusive interview with Andrew Whitelaw for Sportskeeda MMA, Du Plessis said:
"We are one of the very few sports that still have freedom of speech—real freedom of speech in terms of... You get a stage, you get a mic, and you say what you're going to say. You have to face the consequences; that's one thing I admire about the company, Dana, and the powers that they give all the fighters—that they give you the right to say whatever you want."
He added:
"How you want to portray yourself in front of the world—that's your prerogative. We are not told to say anything and do anything; do whatever you like, but as long as it's within the law, go right ahead and best of luck to you."
Check out Dricus Du Plessis' comments below (13:16):
