logo
Sizwe Dlomo trolls Dricus after UFC title loss

Sizwe Dlomo trolls Dricus after UFC title loss

The South African12 hours ago
Sizwe Dhlomo had surprising words for both Gayton McKenzie and Dricus du Plessis, who was dethroned of his UFC Middleweight World Champion belt by Khamzat Chimaev.
The Kaya FM host has been vocal about his disdain for the Minister of Sports, Art, and Culture, whose K-word social media scandal went viral this week.
On his X account, Sizwe Dhlomo reacted to Gayton McKenzie consoling Dricus du Plessis after his UFC title loss. The minister posted: 'Dricus du Plessis, you made us proud as one of the great champions, and we know you will be back. You faced a tough wrestler today, but you will come back stronger.
'It was hard to watch, but you never gave up, almost had him & you'll always be a legend. Chin up, #noDNAjustRSA 🇿🇦
Responding to the tweet, Sizwe posted: 'Hey f*kof, wena!'
Sizwe Dhlomo wasn't the only South African who had something to say about Dricus du Plessis's loss.
Comedian Yaaseen Barnes referred to the MMA fighter's previous controversial comments and endorsement of US President Donald Trump.
He posted: 'Dricus' loss actually made me more Pro-South African. He stood for the white genocide (which has been debunked), he's also pro-Trump (who should be debunked)
'This is a loss for the good of the country.'
EFF's Sinawo Thambo posted of Dricus: 'There is no patriotism with peddlers of fake genocide in SA and racists.'
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Cape Town journalists march in solidarity with media workers targeted and killed in Gaza
Cape Town journalists march in solidarity with media workers targeted and killed in Gaza

Daily Maverick

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Maverick

Cape Town journalists march in solidarity with media workers targeted and killed in Gaza

A march in Sea Point, Cape Town, on Sunday was the latest in a series of protests aimed at spotlighting the targeted killing of media workers in Gaza. Local journalists led the demonstration, expressing solidarity with their colleagues on the other side of the world. Hundreds of people marched along the Sea Point promenade in Cape Town on Sunday, 17 August, to protest against the targeted killing of journalists in the Gaza Strip. The march was led by local journalists holding a sign bearing the names of more than 200 Palestinian media workers who have reportedly been killed since 7 October 2023. The march was organised by Journalists Against Apartheid, with support from other organisations including Gift of the Givers, South African Jews for a Free Palestine and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The demonstration comes exactly a week after an Israeli airstrike on a media tent near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City killed six journalists. Among those killed were Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh; camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal; local freelance reporter Mohammad Al-Khaldi; and Moaman Aliwa, a camera assistant. The Israeli military released a statement claiming it had targeted Al-Sharif because he allegedly headed a Hamas cell. However, the Israeli government has not provided evidence to back up these claims. The Al Jazeera Media Network and the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) have condemned the killing of Al-Sharif and his colleagues as an assassination and a 'blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom'. Sharif Mosa, a Palestinian photojournalist living in South Africa, spoke at Sunday's demonstration, describing the targeted killing of Gazan journalists as an attempt to 'steal' the Palestinian story by eliminating witnesses. 'Every colonial project survives on two weapons: physical extermination of the colonised people and control of the narrative. The power to erase, distort and rewrite reality,' said Mosa. '[These journalists] were killed not because they were in the wrong place, but because they were in the right place. Journalists are the antidote of colonial propaganda… Killing journalists is how Israel tries to maintain control over the narrative. But every journalist killed makes the truth louder, and today is a statement about that.' Crystal Orderson, a South African journalist, condemned the 'brutality' meted out against journalists in Gaza who were attempting to document the reality on the ground. 'The question today is, since when has journalism become a crime? Clearly, for the journalists like Anas [al-Sharif]… reporting the truth has become that crime,' she said. 'We're standing here today in solidarity… We grew up under apartheid, we knew the role of the media under apartheid… I want to remind the young journalists that it's important to tell the story of truth… [and] human suffering. We can't be silent. In newsrooms across South Africa, we need to stand up for the truth.' Al-Sharif and his colleagues were among many Palestinian journalists who have been documenting the devastation wrought by Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip in the wake of the 7 October 2023 Hamas assault on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. This includes a large number of media workers on the frontline. Waiting for death In the month before Al-Sharif was killed, both the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Irene Khan, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, released statements expressing concern about his safety. This followed 'online attacks and unfounded accusations by the Israeli army' about Al-Sharif's affiliation with Hamas, according to the UN. Khan said that fears surrounding Al-Sharif's safety were well founded as 'there is growing evidence that journalists in Gaza have been targeted and killed by the Israeli army on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that they were Hamas terrorists'. The CPJ said the Israel Defense Forces had previously made unfounded claims that journalists it killed in Gaza were terrorists, including four Al Jazeera staff. At Sunday's march, Journalists Against Apartheid demanded that: Media organisations call Israel's killing of media workers 'what it is – a war crime'; Israel must immediately release all arbitrarily detained Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and Gaza; and The Israeli media ban must end, allowing foreign correspondents entry to Gaza. 'We stand in solidarity with protesters around the world who have condemned Israel's reprehensible killings this week. Governments must act immediately to protect remaining Palestinian journalists before all of Gaza's media workers are killed. We stand with international human rights organisations who recognise that Israel's military actions and policies in Palestine amount to apartheid and genocide,' said Journalists Against Apartheid. In late 2023, South Africa filed a case asking the International Court of Justice to declare that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention. Almost two years later, the case is still ongoing. International media ban Since 7 October 2023, no international journalists have been permitted entry to Gaza, other than a few controlled visits alongside Israeli soldiers that restricted independent reporting. Human rights investigators have also been barred. This has made Palestinian journalists working in the region the primary source of facts and reports about the effects of bombardments by Israeli forces and the growing threat of starvation among Gazans due to the blockade on aid. International media and human rights organisations, including the CPJ, have called for Israel to allow media workers and investigators into Gaza to document the situation on the ground. Restricted access to the region has made it challenging to establish the exact number of journalists killed. Sara Qudah, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists, told Daily Maverick the organisation was often forced to rely on media reports when tracking the loss of life. 'The grave reality of documenting attacks on the press in the Israel-Gaza war is that we have known of instances where whole families have been killed in strikes, leaving no one to contact to verify details of a journalist or media worker's case. Other times, we face challenges getting hold of the outlet, or remaining family members don't even have information about the outlets the journalists worked at,' she said. The CPJ puts the number of journalists and media workers killed in the Israel-Gaza war between 2023 to 2025 at more than 190, which exceeds the number of press members that were killed worldwide in the previous three years (2020 to 2022). However, some organisations have estimated that the death toll is higher. DM

Nato-like protection in focus for Trump meeting with Ukraine, Europe
Nato-like protection in focus for Trump meeting with Ukraine, Europe

Daily Maverick

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Maverick

Nato-like protection in focus for Trump meeting with Ukraine, Europe

U.S. may offer NATO-like protection to Ukraine, Witkoff says Rubio highlights potential U.S. security commitment to Ukraine Trump-Putin talks narrowed key issues, Rubio notes Rewrites throughout, adds quotes from Rubio and Witkoff By Trevor Hunnicutt and David Ljunggren 'We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection,' Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to Russia, told CNN's 'State of the Union' program. 'The United States could offer Article 5 protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.' Witkoff was referring to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which regards any attack against one of its 32 members as an attack on all. He suggested that a security guarantee of that scale could be offered to Ukraine in lieu of NATO membership, which Putin has ruled out. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been gradually advancing for months in the deadliest war in Europe for 80 years, Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who were both in the room when Trump met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, gave a series of TV interviews ahead of a Monday meeting in Washington with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and leaders of some European allies. 'We made some progress, we believe, and now we have to follow up on that progress,' Rubio told CNN's 'State of the Union' about the meeting with Putin. 'Ultimately, where this should lead is to a meeting between the three leaders, between Zelenskiy, Putin and President Trump, where we can finalize, but we got to get this thing closer before we get to that point.' Russian officials are opposed to Western troops in Ukraine, but have not ruled out a security guarantee for Kyiv. Speaking during a joint media appearance with Trump after their nearly three-hour long meeting, Putin said on Friday: 'I agree with President Trump. He said today that Ukraine's security must be ensured by all means. Of course, we are ready to work on this.' Witkoff told 'Fox News Sunday' that Russia had also agreed to passing a law against taking any more of Ukraine by force. 'The Russians agreed on enshrining legislatively language that would prevent them from – or that they would attest to not attempting to take any more land from Ukraine after a peace deal, where they would attest to not violating any European borders,' he said. PEACE DEAL VS SURRENDER Any security guarantees offered to Zelenskiy could also include a commitment from the United States, Rubio told Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures', an option that many of Trump's MAGA supporters have rejected up to now. 'It would be a very big move by the president, if he were to offer a U.S. commitment to a security guarantee,' Rubio said. 'It tells you how badly he wants peace, how much he values peace, that he would be willing to make a concession like that …That's what we'll talk about tomorrow.' In a social media post, Trump wrote, 'BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!' But he gave no details. Rubio said U.S. officials discussed security details for Ukraine with the national security advisers of multiple European countries on Saturday, adding that the aim would be to build in details that could ultimately be presented to Russia as part of a peace agreement. He told Fox News that the talks between Trump and Putin on Friday had narrowed the number of key issues, which include drawing borders and military alliances for Ukraine as well as security guarantees. 'There's a lot of work that remains,' Rubio added. According to sources, Trump and Putin discussed proposals for Russia to relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine ceding a swathe of fortified land in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere. Rubio said Russia and Ukraine would not be able to get everything they want. 'If one side gets everything they want, that's not a peace deal. It's called surrender, and I don't think this is a war that's going to end anytime soon on the basis of surrender,' Rubio told CNN. In a separate interview on ABC, Rubio said if a deal could not be reached to end the war, existing U.S. sanctions on Russia would continue, and more could be added. When Zelenskiy visited the White House in February, the meeting ended in a shouting match. Rubio, speaking to CBS, dismissed the idea that the European leaders were coming to Washington to protect Zelenskiy. 'They're not coming here tomorrow to keep Zelenskiy from being bullied. They're coming here tomorrow because we've been working with the Europeans,' he said. 'We invited them to come.'

Tristan Tate defends Dricus against 'racist' comments
Tristan Tate defends Dricus against 'racist' comments

The South African

time8 hours ago

  • The South African

Tristan Tate defends Dricus against 'racist' comments

Tristan Tate – the brother of Andrew Tate – has defended Dricus du Plessis against critics who labelled him a 'racist'. Like the former UFC Middleweight World Champion, Tristan is known for his outspoken views on farm killings, 'white genocide,' and his endorsement of US President Donald Trump. Tristan, like Andrew, is also a former professional kickboxer. On his X account, Tristan Tate defended Dricus du Plessis against his critics. Tagging the former UFC Middleweight World Champion, Tristan posted: 'The hate @dricusduplessis is getting from people is totally unjustified.' He added, 'Chin up, champ, ignore the noise'. Tristan previously defended Dricus after fellow UFC fighter Israel 'Izzy' Adesanya claimed that the South African was 'not African'. He posted: 'Saying @dricusduplessis isn't African because he's white is super racist. 'He's African and so is Elon, do none of you know basic history?'. On X, many South Africans have accused Dricus of being a 'racist' after he publicly praised US President Donald Trump, who accused South Africa of promoting a 'white genocide'. Earlier this year, the 31-year-old said of the newly re-elected statesman: 'He is amazing, and I've had the privilege of meeting him. 'He said good changes are coming. He's holding many people and countries accountable for everything, and it's amazing to see'. Dricus also gave a 'big shout out to fellow South African Elon Musk for also doing the right thing.' Dricus du Plessis has praised Donald Trump and Elon Musk for speaking out about South Africa. Images via Instagram: @ufc Dricus – who has been vocal about farm killings – also infamously criticised South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Speaking to US interviewer Nina Drama ahead of his UFC title fight last year, the Pretoria MMA fighter accused the government of 'screwing up' the country. He said: 'It's the worst government in the world by a long shot. We are truly and exceptionally s**t…it's the most corrupt in the world.' He continued: 'Our country is beautiful, the people are amazing…..There are a lot of great people doing great work. But I have to say, the government is terrible. Do I admit the tenacity with which they screw up? It's astonishing'. Of President Cyril Ramaphosa, he added: 'He takes all the money.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store