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South African Dricus du Plessis will make his first defense of the middleweight title against New Zealander Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, which will take place on Saturday, August 17, at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
This highly anticipated bout has been building up since 2023, with the fight being postponed twice due to injuries to Du Plessis. Additionally, it will be the first time two fighters of African descent face off for a UFC championship.
Dricus du Plessis (21-2-0) will be looking to extend his nine-fight winning streak, but it won't be easy against Israel Adesanya (24-3-0), who holds New Zealand citizenship but was born in Nigeria.
Adesanya will be aiming to reclaim a belt he has held twice before, most recently winning it by defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in 2019. After five successful defenses, he lost it to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023.
Strickland's reign was short-lived, as he was defeated by Du Plessis in January of this year.
Now, Du Plessis will defend his title in a power-packed fight, backed by a record where out of his 21 victories, he has won 9 by knockout, 10 by submission, and only two by decision, while he has one loss by knockout and one by submission.
What is Dricus du Plessis' Record?
- Age: 30 years
- Country: South Africa
- Record: 21-2-0
- Height: 1.85 m (6' 1'')
- Weight: 84 kg (186 lbs)
- Reach: 76''
- Leg Reach: 43''
- Wins by KO/TKO: 9
- Wins by Submission: 10
- Wins by Decision: 2
- Average Fight Time: 9:11
- Takedown Rate per 15 Minutes: 1.09
- Strikes Landed per Minute: 6.95
- Significant Strikes Accuracy: 55%
- Strikes Absorbed per Minute: 3.79
- Defense: 53%
Full UFC 305 Fight Card: Du Plessis vs Adesanya
- #C Dricus Du Plessis (21-2-0) vs. #2 Israel Adesanya (24-3-0) - for the UFC Middleweight Title
- #4 Kai Kara France (24-11-0) vs. #7 Stephen Erceg (12-2-0) - Flyweight
- #5 Mateusz Gamrot (24-2-0) vs. #11 Dan Hooker (23-12-0) - Lightweight
- #10 Tai Tuivasa (15-7-0) vs. #12 Jairzinho Rozenstruik (14-5-0) - Heavyweight
- Li Jingliang (19-8-0) vs. Carlos Prates (19-6-0) - Welterweight
Preliminary Fights
- Junior Tafa (5-2-0) vs. Valter Walker (11-1-0) - Heavyweight
- Josh Culibao (11-3-1) vs. Ricardo Ramos (16-6-0) - Featherweight
- #15 Casey O'Neill (9-2-0) vs. Luana Santos (8-1-0) - Flyweight
- Jack Jenkins (12-3-0) vs. Herbert Burns (11-5-0) - Featherweight
Fight Pass Preliminaries
- Tom Nolan (7-1-0) vs. Alex Reyes (13-4-0) - Lightweight
- Song Kenan (20-8-0) vs. Ricky Glenn (22-8-2) - Welterweight
- Stewart Nicoll (0-0-0) vs. Jesus Aguilar (10-2-0) - Flyweight