UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis (21-2-0) secured his belt after defeating Sean Strickland via split decision back in the main event of UFC 297 in January. In August, He makes his first scheduled title defense against his long-time African rival Israel Adesanya (24-3-0) at UFC 305 inside the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
The tension between the two middleweights, Du Plessis and Adesanya, has been palpable. They have not shied away from expressing their disdain for each other in public. Their most memorable encounter was when Adesanya boldly entered the cage with Du Plessis right after the South African’s stunning second-round TKO victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290.
Shortly after entering the cage, Adesanya and Du Plessis were given the spotlight with microphones, and the two quickly exchanged words. See the classic video of Du Plessis and Adesanya getting into a verbal confrontation and face-off inside the cage here on TNT Sports’ official YouTube channel.
Du Plessis and Adesanya’s Bad Blood
The UFC’s middleweight division will be put on notice as these two elite middleweights clash in the main event of UFC 305.
This fight has been long overdue. These two talented African fighters have shared choice words about each other, and their career trajectories have perfectly aligned up to this moment.
These two first met eleven years ago when they had a sparring session together at the legendary Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. At this time, Du Plessis was 19 years old. Adesanya told MMA journalist and reporter Ariel Helwani that he got the better of Du Plessis in this session.
In an interview with MMA reporter ‘The Schmo, ‘ Du Plessis acknowledged and confirmed that they did spar. However, he denied that Adesanya ever got the better of him during these exchanges.
However, this ‘beef’ between the two was initialized once Du Plessis took to the microphone during the media day before an impressive win over Derek Brunson at UFC 285 in March 2023.
In response to a media member’s question, Du Plessis spoke about what it means to him to be an African champion and what qualifies a fighter to have that label.
“Did his belt ever go to Africa? As far as I know, it went to America and New Zealand. We train in Africa; we’re African-born, African-raised, still reside in Africa, and train out of Africa. That’s an African champion, and that’s who I’ll be.”
After those comments, former champions Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya reacted negatively to the subtle attack on their legitimacy as African champions.
Looking at the matchup itself, Du Plessis is a wild, unorthodox brute who physically imposes his will on his opponents. The South African has a severely underrated ground game, coupled with an awkward striking style out of either stance, making him a nightmare matchup for anyone in the middleweight division.
As for the former long-time champion and UFC superstar Israel Adesanya, he presents a sharp and experienced kickboxing style that suits his body frame well. Standing at a lanky 6-foot-4, the ‘Last Stylebender’ likes to fight off his back foot with many feints and snapping leg kicks.
Now making what will be his seventeenth UFC appearance, Adesanya will be looking to get back to his routine winning ways after a lackluster performance in his most recent fight against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023.
On the contrary, Du Plessis will seek to continue his undefeated run inside the UFC in his eighth UFC fight (7-0).
Most Recent Fights Against Sean Strickland
Both men made their most recent UFC appearances against the outspoken and controversial Sean Strickland.
Du Plessis defeated Strickland via controversial split-decision at UFC 297 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Whereas Adesanya suffered a devastating one-sided unanimous decision loss to Strickland, even being knocked down with a heavy right hand in the first-round.
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