The main event of Saturday’s UFC 305 had been a long time coming, with Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya circling one another for over a year.
When he entered the UFC as a former KSW and EFC champ, Du Plessis had quickly been seen as a future contender. Adesanya, then champ, had to first deal with Alex Pereira, but things appeared to be set for a showdown between “The Last Stylebender” and “Stillknocks” last year.
Then, Adesanya lost his title, shockingly, to Sean Strickland, one fight removed from having won it back from Pereira.
Du Plessis made the save of sorts, defeating Strickland in January at UFC 297 in Toronto. Which brought the pair to Perth for UFC 305, with Adesanya looking to become a three-time UFC champ.
The staredown to start the fight was intense. The atmosphere electric. Certainly, the stage was set for something big to happen. Early on, Du Plessis mixed in leg kicks, and exploded forward in response to an Adesanya attack. Before long, Du Plessis was sporting a small cut. Adesanya was darting in and out, switched stances, and fired a kick to the body.
Dricus then crashed forward, grabbing onto Adesanya with about two minutes still on the clock. Adesanya, however, shook him off, forcing the fight back to range. Du Plessis again closed the distance, but wound up chasing the ex-champ, who wasn’t there to be hit. The leg kicks of Dricus Du Plessis were markedly more effective, however, and a right hand connected for the champ with a minute or so left in the frame. In the final minute, an Adesanya combination was punctuated by the kick; Du Plessis then fired a high kick that was blocked.
Round two opened with a heavy kick from Adesanya which forced the champ to switch stances. Du Plessis powered forward in response. Another heavy leg kick was fired by Adesanya, but a moment later ,Du Plessis landed a takedown off a level change. Adesanya was instantly back up, but Du Plessis dragged him down again. From there, Du Plessis went after a choke, forcing Adesanya to give up the back. Du Plessis took that, firing punches and wrapping up a choke, but Du Plessis fell off! Adesanya escaped to his feet, looking the fresher of the two fighters.
Mere seconds later, Adesanya clipped Du Plessis, who practically fell into a takedown! He managed to take Adesanya down off the single leg, then wrestled him along the fence as Israel returned to his feet. With a bodylock from the back, Du Plessis was gaining control time, but not doing a ton with it. The champ finally managed to sneak in some left hands in the final minute, but it was Adesanya nearly coming out on top in a trip moments later.
The third round saw Adesanya dig to the body; Du Plessis fired another high kick, blocked as it had been the first two rounds. Another high kick following an Adesanya attack appeared to come in slow motion, and glanced off Israel. Du Plessis then attacked, only to eat a spinning elbow from Adesanya! But a second spinning elbow shortly after allowed Du Plessis to land a hook. Now, as he charged forward, he was finding more success. A sloppy takedown attempt backfired for the champ; Adesanya attacked, then slipped. In the latter part of the round, Adesanya went back to the bodywork.
Entering the championship rounds, Du Plessis appeared to be a little low on gas. His movements felt labored in comparison to Adesanya, suggesting that perhaps the earlier body shots had taken their toll on the South African. Still, Dricus continued to find it in him to charge in, hunting Adesanya when he could. Adesanya’s shots were crisper, more accurate, and more effective though. A left hook did get Adesanya’s attention, and a stumble by Adesanya resulted in the champ exploding forward. He connected several times, and Israel Adesanya went down! Du Plessis went after him, took the back, and wrapped up a rear-naked choke. The choke was in, Adesanya tapped, and Dricus Du Plessis had the submission win, and the biggest scalp of his career! Retaining his middleweight title in the process.
Official Result: Dricus Du Plessis def. Israel Adesanya by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 4, 3:38
