Dricus du Plessis could help bring an Ultimate Fighting Championship event to his home country if he successfully defends his middleweight title on Saturday night.
The South African will face Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Tension has been building for this championship bout since last summer, when du Plessis and Adesanya clashed in a heated battle inside the Octagon at UFC 290. Their grudge match has been a long time coming, but the stakes remain high leading up to the bout.
“It’s a situation where everything is on the line for both fighters, especially since they hate each other,” UFC CEO Dana White said at Tuesday night’s Contender Series post-fight press conference. “And… [Du Plessus] “If I can beat Izzy and bring the belt back to South Africa, then of course we’ll have an event there. And if Izzy can defend the title and win it, that would be huge for him and his legacy. Not a defense, but a recapture.”
UFC 305: du Plessis vs. Adesanya, Saturday at 10pm ET on ESPN+. Order now! White has previously alluded to hosting a UFC event on the continent when the sport has had three African champions: Adesanya, Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman. Meanwhile, du Plessis has generated a lot of controversy with past comments about being a “real African” at UFC. This remains the main source of animosity between the current champion and Adesanya. White believes the bout will live up to expectations.
“When you have guys that hate each other like this, a lot of times the fight is going to be boring, but I have a feeling it won’t be this time,” White said. “When you think about what Israel Adesanya has done in his life, not just here but in kickboxing, Dorikus is going to show what he’s got. He’s coming.”
