UFC 305 arrived on Saturday in Perth, Australia with a middleweight championship grudge match topping the marquee.
Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya had been circling each other for over a year, though the fight was thrown into jeopardy after “The Last Stylebender” shockingly lost his title to Sean Strickland last year. Du Plessis, however, dethroned Strickland in January, putting DDP vs. Izzy back on the map.
The feud between the two had become racially tinged when Du Plessis referred to himself as the “real” African fighter in the UFC. While the South African insisted he was referring to him living and training in South Africa (compared to Adesanya, a Nigerian residing in New Zealand), his opponent had not taken kindly to it. Especially given it also threw shade at former UFC champs Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou, both with African roots.
Regardless, the pair would have a chance to settle things in the cage Saturday. In the co-main event, meanwhile, Steve Erceg was set to take on Kai Kara-France in a key match-up for the flyweight division. With Mohammad Mokaev released and Manel Kape coming off a loss, a strong showing from either man would put them right in the mix.
Following UFC 305, tune in for the post-fight press conference to stay on top of all the latest news. A live stream is available above.
