The UFC is in Perth, Australia this week, with UFC 305 set to unfold on Saturday featuring a grudge match between Israel Adesanya and middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis.
When last we saw Adesanya, he was shockingly upset by Sean Strickland, bringing about the end to the second reign of “The Last Stylebender.” Since then, Adesanya’s star power has seemingly been eclipsed by rival Alex Pereira, but fortunes on MMA can turn on a dime. Adesanya gets the rare opportunity to become a three-time champ this Saturday, should he overcome South Africa’s Du Plessis in the UFC 305 main event.
Du Plessis for his part has done everything right inside the octagon since arriving in the UFC from KSW and EFC in 2020. A welterweight champ in the Polish promotion and double-champ in EFC, Du Plessis won six straight fights inside the octagon before facing Strickland for middleweight gold in Toronto earlier this year. That stretch of wins included victories over Darren Till, Derek Brunson, and ex-champ Robert Whittaker; at UFC 297, a split decision win over Strickland established Du Plessis as South Africa’s first UFC champion.
Not Africa’s first champion, certainly not by heritage, however. And that’s where things between Du Plessis and Adesanya turn ugly. Adesanya, Nigerian by descent while calling New Zealand home, took offence to Du Plessis calling himself the “real” African champ by virtue of actually living on the continent, unlike his opponent (as well as Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou).
That led to an awkward confrontation at following Du Plessis’ fight at UFC 290, with Adesanya dropping N-bombs and urging Du Plessis to take a DNA test to show where he’s really from.
Will they be better behaved during the UFC 305 press conference? Tune in above to find out.
