Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya will have a ferocious showdown for the middleweight world championship when they meet in the main event of UFC 305, set for the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Sunday.
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Du Plessis (21-2) won the middleweight title in January 2024 when he claimed a split decision triumph over Sean Strickland in Toronto, becoming the first South African to win a UFC championship.
Nigerian-born Adesanya (24-3) is a former two-time middleweight champion but lost the title to Strickland via unanimous decision in September last year.
He is nonetheless considered one of the all-time greats in the division and Du Plessis believes that a win over ‘The Last Stylebender’ would see him become a part of that conversation.
🇿🇦 𝐝𝐮 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬 🆚 𝐀𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚 🇳🇬
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 15, 2024
It looks like whoever can win the takedown battle could be crowned Middleweight champion 👀👇
Watch #UFC305 on Sunday - prelims start at 02:00 (CAT) with the main card live from 04:00 (CAT) 🍿 pic.twitter.com/vrcLPkcLXV
“I’ve always looked at Israel Adesanya as the benchmark,” ‘Stillknocks’ explained.
“Now Izzy became a champion a long time ago, and I’ve looked at him and always knew this is where I need to be if I ever want to be the best in the world. This is the benchmark.
“He is one of the greatest to ever do it, and this fight for me is going to put me in that position. This is where I take over as one of the greatest to ever do it. This is where my years of building and climbing that ladder is going to a point where I am now the guy that’s one of the greatest to ever do it.”
Adesanya, meanwhile, is in “flow” and looking to revive the mercurial ability that saw him dominate the division between 2019 and 2022.
“I’m trying to take every day one at a time, I’m not trying to look too far into the future, I’m not trying to look past a week, I’m just taking things as they come – it feels like I’m living in the moment [and that] makes me feel like I’m living according to my flow,” said the New Zealand-based fighter.
The rest of the main card features another Kiwi in Kai Kara-France taking on Australia’s Steve Erceg in a flyweight fight; heavyweight cult hero Tai Tuivasa is set for a potential banger against Jairzinho Rozenstruik; Mateusz Gamrot takes on Dan Hooker in the lightweight division; and a welterweight opener pits Li Jingliang against Carlos Prates.
UFC 305 – Main card
- Main event: Middleweight championship: Dricus du Plessis v Israel Adesanya
- Flyweight: Kai Kara-France v Steve Erceg
- Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot v Dan Hooker
- Heavyweight: Tau Tuivasa v Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Welterweight: Li Jingliang v Carlos Prates