Dricus Du Plessis successfully defended his UFC middleweight championship by defeating Israel Adesanya with a fourth-round submission on Saturday, in the main event of UFC 305 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
In order to keep his title, Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) had to overcome hardship. Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) was gathering momentum in the fourth round when a left hook caught him off guard and set up the decisive sequence.
Through three rounds, the battle was evenly matched between Du Plessis’s powerful takedowns and offensive and Adesanya’s precise bodywork and counterpunching. In the fourth round, just when it seemed the champion’s bodywork was wearing thin, Du Plessis dug in and launched himself forward, sending three right hands into Adesanya to take the fight to the canvas. At 3:38, Du Plessis swiftly switched to the former champion’s back and applied a rear-naked choke to secure the submission.
“I came in here to die for this belt or take a life,” Du Plessis said. “Luckily, I didn’t have to do either.”
More than just a world title was at stake in this fight; Adesanya and Du Plessis had been exchanging barbs over the course of more than a year about who the first “real” African champion was. Du Plessis was born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa, whereas Adesanya was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and is currently a resident of Auckland, New Zealand.
Once Du Plessis asserted that he was the first champion to be born, raised, and currently reside on the continent, he turned the rivalry into a fight of ancestry, disregarding Adesanya, Francis Ngannou, and Kamaru Usman, all of whom were African-born UFC champions.
Although there was bad blood heading into the fight, the two fighters seemed to bury the hatchet afterward.
“I’m really sorry that it came across that I disrespected the fact that he’s from Africa,” Du Plessis, 30, said afterward. “That was never my intention. Africa would have won regardless, but tonight South Africa was the victor.
“It was an honor for me to share this cage with a legend, and I have the utmost respect for him.”
After defeating Sean Strickland to win the title in January, it was Du Plessis’s first successful title defense and his tenth straight victory. He would start his defense against the man who is regarded by many as one of the all-time great middleweights.
Adesanya, 35, was making his Octagon comeback after an 11-month hiatus following his shocking September title loss to Strickland. After competing in six title fights in 19 months at a breakneck pace, the former champion decided to take a break from fighting in the hopes of improving “The Last Stylebender.”
Throughout the bout, the former champion did appear impressive, scoring with long jabs, precise counterstrikes, and body punches. According to UFC Stats, Adesanya actually had a 105-99 advantage in total strikes.
To keep his opponent honest, Du Plessis, though, continued to be explosive and combined strikes with takedowns. Following Adesanya’s unsuccessful attempt to take down Du Plessis in the opening frame, “Stillknocks” would show tenacity by securing three takedowns and threatening to apply a rear-naked choke in the following frame. The combination that would ultimately prove to be successful in keeping the title would be the change from takedown to choke.
Adesanya started to settle into a rhythm in Rounds 3 and 4, landing vicious body blows and jabs that had an impact on the champion. But as usual, Du Plessis persevered through difficult times and achieved his greatest victory to date.
Adesanya, who lost by submission for the first time in his MMA career, had a message after the fight that raised concerns about his future should he fail in his quest to hold the title.
“I’m not f—ing leaving,” he said.
Prior to the bout, UFC President Dana White declared that Strickland would be the next to go up for the victory. Du Plessis stated that although it would be a rematch, he has no problem giving Strickland another chance to win the title.
He remarked, “I want to hear ‘And still.'” “That is all that matters to me. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is.”
