Alex Ballentine August 18, 2024
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Dricus du Plessis retained the UFC middleweight championship with a fourth-round submission win over Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305 from the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
SportsCenter @SportsCenter
DDP SUBMITS ADESANYA IN ROUND 4 😳 #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/SY93EvS1ew
The two were competitive from the opening bell. Du Plessis found some success in rushing the strategically mixing up leg kicks with blitzes, but Adesanya also found scoring opportunities with his own strikes from range.
UFC Europe @UFCEurope
Early blitz from the champion in the first round! #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/IOju7B6Ul3
Du Plessis brought his wrestling to the party in the second round. He landed an early takedown in the round and went back to that well even after Adesanya was initially able to stand up. A few submission attempts highlighted a strong round for Du Plessis.
Adesanya came back in the third round with increased work to the body. A tired Du Plessis did not go back to his wrestling but had some of his own moments with his striking.
That strategy would continue on until the fight reached the championship rounds. Adesanya turned the momentum back in his favor until Du Plessis went back to the grappling in the fourth round.
Du Plessis put together a takedown off of a right hand that he transitioned right into the rear-naked choke that drew the tap and finished the fight.
The win brings an end to (at least the first chapter) of a heated rivalry between the two fighters. It was the first UFC championship fight between two African-born combatants and there was plenty of heat between the two of them that goes back a while.
Ultimately, Du Plessis came out on top in a historic fight and now has a huge bullet point on his resume. Adesanya’s run of dominance in the middleweight division brings a lot of gravitas to Du Plessis as the current reigning champion of the division.
“His career can’t be argued,” Du Plessis said of Adesanya’s resume, per Kevin Schuster of UFC.com. “He’s one of the greatest fighters ever. Not in the middleweight division, not in the UFC, but in MMA, one of the best to ever do it. While he’s still in the organization, I’m holding the belt, which makes it pretty evident that there’s something special [about me] and there’s something different.”
Whether Du Plessis run with the belt becomes something special is a storyline we will have to see develop in the coming months and years. Beating Adesanya is a big accomplishment, but The Last Stylebender was 35 years old and coming off of an uninspiring performance against Sean Strickland.
It’s now likely that Du Plessis will have to meet Strickland in the cage. The two fought back in January and Du Plessis came away with a split-decision win. UFC President Dana White recently told reporters that Strickland would get the next title shot regardless who won at UFC 305.
Now, Du Plessis will have to show that he can win even more convincingly in a rematch.
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