Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya at the UFC 305 weigh-in. Photo credit: Youtube/UFC
The main event of Saturday’s UFC 305 was a long-awaited one, with Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya facing off for over a year.
Coming into the UFC as a former KSW and EFC champion, du Plessis was immediately seen as a future favorite, and while then-champion Adesanya had to face Alex Pereira first, a showdown between “The Last Stylebender” and “Stillnox” was on the cards last year.
Adesanya then suffered a shocking loss to Sean Strickland shortly after regaining the title from Pereira.
Du Plessis achieved some sort of redemption by defeating Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto in January, before the pair meet at UFC 305 in Perth, where Adesanya will be seeking to become UFC champion for a third time.
The opening standoff was tense. The atmosphere was frenetic. The stage was certainly set for something big to happen. Early on, du Plessis mixed in leg kicks and lunged in response to Adesanya’s attacks. Soon du Plessis had a small cut. Adesanya was in and out of the ring, shifting positions and landing kicks to the body.
Dricus then charged forward and got a hold of Adesanya with about two minutes left, but Adesanya shook him off and the fight closed the distance again. Du Plessis closed the distance again but ended up chasing the former champion, who wasn’t there to take the hits. But Dricus du Plessis’ leg kicks were clearly more effective, and the champion landed a right hand with about a minute left. In the final minute, Adesanya’s combinations were highlighted with kicks, and du Plessis threw a high kick that was blocked.
The second round began with a hard kick from Adesanya, forcing the champion to change his stance. Du Plessis responded by moving forward. Adesanya landed another hard leg kick, but shortly after, du Plessis changed levels and landed a takedown. Adesanya quickly got to his feet, but du Plessis again dragged him down. From there, du Plessis went for the choke, forcing Adesanya to take his back. Du Plessis took it, landed punches and closed out the choke, but du Plessis dropped. Adesanya looked the more energetic of the two fighters, getting to his feet and getting out.
Just seconds later, Adesanya had du Plessis down, but du Plessis fell for a takedown! He took Adesanya down with a single leg, then Israel got to his feet and wrestled along the fence. Duplessis applied a body lock from behind to buy control time, but it wasn’t very effective. The champion finally landed a left punch in the final minute, but Adesanya tripped him moments later and nearly cost him the win.
In the third round, Adesanya eats a bite to the body and du Plessis lands another high kick, but it’s blocked as it was in the first two rounds. Another high kick follows Adesanya’s attack, which appears to fly in slow motion and grazes Israel’s eye. Du Plessis attacks but is hit with a spinning elbow from Adesanya! But a second spinning elbow moments later, du Plessis lands a hook. This time du Plessis charges in and has more success. A sloppy takedown attempt backfires for the champion. Adesanya attacks but then slips. Later in the round, Adesanya again resorts to bodywork.
Coming into the championship rounds, du Plessis looked a little gassed, moving sluggishly compared to Adesanya, perhaps suggesting that the body shots had taken their toll on the South African. Still, Dricus du Plessis continued to charge forward, cornering Adesanya when he could. But Adesanya’s shots were crisper, more accurate, and more effective. A left hook certainly caught Adesanya’s attention, and as Adesanya stumbled, the champion exploded forward. He landed a few hits, and Israel Adesanya was down. Du Plessis chased him down, got behind him, and applied a rear-naked choke. The choke was secured, Adesanya tapped, and Dricus du Plessis earned the submission victory, the biggest win of his career, and in the process, he also defended his middleweight title.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Dricus du Plessis defeats Israel Adesanya by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 4, 3:38
