The extremely anticipated title conflict between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya will function the primary occasion for the UFC’s first present in Australia this yr.
Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will try and make his first middleweight title protection when he takes on two-time divisional champion Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) within the UFC 305 headliner on Aug. 17 at RAC Area in Perth (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
After each fighters indicated it was a executed deal on social media, UFC CEO Dana White mentioned the primary occasion was set on “The Jim Rome Present” on Monday.
☀️🌍🌘
The SUN of Africa is similar solar that lights up our planet.
The SUN will set and can rise once more till you stroll into it. 🌅
The SUN, take pleasure in whereas it shines. Darkness falls when it’s gone. pic.twitter.com/u5Swlzr6TW— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) June 17, 2024
First anticipated to happen at UFC 293 this previous September, then once more within the UFC 300 predominant occasion in April, the timing lastly aligned for Du Plessis, No. 1 within the newest USA TODAY Sports activities/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, to step into the octagon with No. 3 Adesanya.
Du Plessis, 30, charged up the 185-pound division with a number of notable wins, together with towards Robert Whittaker, and was anticipated to problem then-champ Adesanya this previous fall. He didn’t take the combat at UFC 293 as a result of harm, although, which allowed Sean Strickland to step in and pull off a large upset.
Strickland would go on to lose the belt to Du Plessis in a debated break up choice at UFC 297 in January, and there was hope Du Plessis would make a fast turnaround for the monumental UFC 300 card. Harm as soon as once more prevented him from accepting, although, regardless of Adesanya claiming he was prepared and keen to go.
Now there’s a date that labored for all sides, and Adesanya, 34, will try and as soon as once more reclaim the belt and be a part of Randy Couture as the one fighters in UFC historical past with three separate title reigns in a single division.
Moreover, Du Plessis and Adesanya will get the possibility to settle their feud, which really started when Du Plessis made a polarizing comment about his delight in being the primary fighter who lives and trains in Africa to carry a UFC belt.
The friction stemming from that remark has rippled via time, together with when Du Plessis and Adesanya engaged in a heated in-cage staredown following Du Plessis’ win over Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023.
The newest UFC 305 lineup now consists of:
- Champ Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya – for middleweight title
- Steve Erceg vs. Kai Kara-France
- Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes
- Tereza Bleda vs. Casey O’Neill
For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC 305.
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