Just a few days ago the world of martial arts was on edge in the expectation of the upcoming 305th edition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, widely referred to as simply UFC. The Championship was returning to Perth, Australia for the third time in its history and for the first time since February 2023 when Makhachev and Volkanovski faced off in UFC 284.
This time the RAC Arena in Perth was hosting the event that would take place on Sunday, 18 August in Australia, which means that most of the world would see it some time during Saturday, 17 August.
With the main card full of interesting fights and promising spectacles, the audience, both in the arena and around the world, had a lot to be looking forward to. And of course, the main event was a cherry on top of the cake. South African Dricus du Plessis and Nigerian-New Zealand Israel Adesanya were set to fight for the title of the middleweight champion.
As UFC launched a multiyear deal planning twice-annual events in Perth, the du Plessis vs Adesanya fight was a perfect inaugural event for it.
UFC 305 Du Plessis vs Adesanya Review: The Men in the Ring
An interesting detail about this bout is that with Adesanya born in Nigeria and du Plessis being from South Africa, this becomes the first time two fighters from the African continent would face each other in a UFC fight.
On top of that, this is the first time Israel Adesanya will step into the ring after being on hiatus for almost a year. In September 2023 he lost his champion title to Sean Strickland in the UFC 293 bout and since then stayed away from the ring. Not everyone approved his decision to throw himself directly into a title fight, however Adesanya was adamant to go through with this decision. If he won this fight, Adesanya would have become the first ever three-time middleweight champion.
The Middleweight Championship Wars
But there was more to add intrigue to the match. Du Plessis and Adesanya share a history that goes far back than the UFC 305 bout. In fact, the UFC 293 fight after which Adesanya decided to take some time off was initially supposed to be between him and du Plessis.
But first, there was Robert Whittaker, the man who was defeated by middleweight fighters only twice in his career. The first time he lost, it was to Israel Adesanya. The second time – to Dricus du Plessis.
After this victory, du Plessis decided to go for the middleweight champion title and challenge Adesanya in the ring. The fight was set to take place in September 2023, but due to medical complications the South African mixed martial artist had to drop out. He was replaced in the ring by Sean Strickland.
This bout proved to be a historical, albeit an unfortunate one, for Israel Adesanya, as he lost his champion title to Strickland. In January 2024 Dricus du Plessis challenged Strickland and defeated him, becoming the new middleweight champion.
While this predicament already made things quite personal between them, du Plessis added some fire by making comments that he was the “real” first African middleweight champion because not only was he born in Africa, but also trained on the continent throughout his career, unlike Adesanya.
Dricus du Plessis Stats Before the Fight
| Weight class: | Middleweight |
| Weight: | 83.46 kg (184 lbs) |
| Height: | 185.4 cm (6’1”) |
| Record: | 21-2-0 (win-loss-draw) |
| Nickname: | Stillknocks |
| Last fight: | 21 January, 2024 / win |
| Last opponent: | Sean Strickland |
| DOB: | 14 January 1994 (30 years old) |
| Country: | South Africa |
| Reach: | 76 in |
| Leg reach: | 43 in |
| Stance: | Switch |
Nicknamed “Stillknocks”, du Plessis is recognized in the fighting world for the power of his knockouts. His other skills include grappling and striking combination, as well as submission. Since du Plessis had continuously explored various martial arts from a very young age (his earliest exposure being judo at the age of five, with wrestling at 12 and kickboxing at 14), he uses this to his advantage to adapt to various fighting styles of his opponents.
Israel Adesanya Stats Before the Fight
| Weight class: | Middleweight |
| Weight: | 83.82 kg (184.80 lbs) |
| Height: | 193.04 cm (6’4”) |
| Record: | 24-3-0 (win-loss-draw) |
| Nickname: | The Last Stylebender |
| Last fight: | 10 September, 2023 / loss |
| Last opponent: | Sean Strickland |
| DOB: | 22 July 1989 (35 years old) |
| Country: | Nigeria/New Zealand |
| Reach: | 80 in |
| Leg reach: | 44.5 in |
| Stance: | Switch |
Israel Adesanya began his sport journey with taekwondo while still at school but had to pull out because of an injury. At the age of 18 he was introduced to kickboxing and two years later was already fighting as an amateur kickboxer. Later he decided to fully transition into martial arts as a professional career. Since 2014 he has also been fighting as a professional boxer. His achievements include a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and he is also training in wrestling.
UFC 305 du Plessis vs Adesanya Review: The Match
With so many interesting twists to the fight, it was only natural that mixed martial arts fans and oddmakers alike made various assumptions as to the outcome of the bout. What made it even more exciting was that other professional fighters joined the conversation and openly expressed their opinions.
For example, Alexander Volkanovski, Adesanya’s teammate from City Kickboxing, while not giving any specific details, claimed that the fight would end in a “crazy finish” that would put the New Zealand fighter back onto the pedestal as the middleweight champion. On the other hand, Robert Whittaker who has seen both men in the ring first hand claimed that the fight could go either way and the chances were 50/50.
What Happened in the Ring
Well, if Israel Adesanya was planning to become the first three-way middleweight champion, this will have to be some other time, as in this bout Dricus du Plessis walked away with the belt.
The first two rounds were rather even, with some back and forth going on. Apart from a small cut on du Plessis’ forehead, there were no major or minor injuries sustained. In the second round, the South African managed to get his opponent on the floor and attempted locking him in chokes but Adesanya quickly regained his ground and was back on his feet.
In the third round the balance tipped in favour of Israel Adesanya. He delivered several hard blows, including a spectacular elbow. This dynamic transitioned into the fourth round but this time around du Plessis got a strong left to the former champion’s head, which he then complemented with three rights. With Adesanya finding himself once again on the ground, du Plessis took the chance to lock him in a rear-naked choke. After that the Nigerian-New Zealand fighter was forced to tap.
Dricus du Plessis won by submission at the 3:38 mark of the fourth round, defending his middleweight champion title.
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