Israel Adesanya is returning to the octagon, and he’ll do so at UFC 305 in August as he battles middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis for the title Adesanya held for a cumulative 1,289 days.
Adesanya shared news of the fight on social media Monday, but the UFC hasn’t officially announced the bout yet. UFC 305 will be held in Perth, Australia, where Adesanya is a fan favorite. Adesanya resides and trains in Auckland, New Zealand.
Du Plessis, 30, captured the middleweight title from Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January. The South African champion has been embroiled in a multiyear feud with Adesanya, dating back to Du Plessis’ comments about wanting to become, “the African fighter in the UFC.”
☀️🌍🌘
The SUN of Africa is the same sun that lights up our planet.
The SUN will set and will rise again until you walk into it. 🌅
The SUN, enjoy while it shines. Darkness falls when it’s gone. pic.twitter.com/u5Swlzr6TW— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) June 17, 2024
Du Plessis’ comments were made at UFC 285, when Francis Ngannou of Cameroon, Kamaru Usman of Nigeria and Adesanya — who was born and spent the first 10 years of his life in Nigeria — were all champions in the promotion.
“Did those belts ever go to Africa? As far as I know, they came to America and New Zealand. I’m going to take a belt to Africa,” Du Plessis said at the March 2023 event.
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“I’m the African fighter in the UFC. Myself and Cameron (Saaiman, fellow South African fighter); we breathe African air. We wake up in Africa every day. We train in Africa, we’re African born, we’re African raised. We still reside in Africa, we train out of Africa. That’s an African champion, and that’s who I’ll be.”
Adesanya responded at the time by saying he would “drag (Du Plessis’) carcass around South Africa.”
After Du Plessis beat former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, Adesanya hopped into the octagon for a heated faceoff. Du Plessis was later offered the chance to fight then-champ Adesanya at UFC 293, but turned the bout down due to an injury.
Du Plessis was replaced by Strickland, who stunned the MMA world by beating Adesanya.
The August 18th bout will mark Adesanya’s first fight since that defeat. The 34-year-old was revered as one of the most dominant champions in history during his reign, defending the belt five times. He then lost the strap to longtime kickboxing rival Alex Pereira, before winning it back with a highlight knockout of Pereira six months later, making him the first two-time champ in the division’s history.
Adesanya has lost three of his last seven fights, including a loss to Strickland and his failed attempt to become a two-division champ in 2021. His lethargic effort against Strickland, who many deemed an inferior opponent, stunned fans and left many wondering if Adesanya still has enough in the tank to reclaim his title.
Should he falter again against Du Plessis, the finish line could be in sight for Adesanya. If Du Plessis defends the belt, a rematch with Strickland is expected after Strickland dominated Paulo Costa at UFC 302. Strickland has also openly complained about the judging in his loss to Du Plessis, as the belt was exchanged via split decision.
UFC 305 will mark the promotion’s third event in Perth. The only other fights announced for the card are between lightweights Tom Nolan and Alex Reyes, and between women’s flyweights Casey O’Neill and Tereza Bleda.
Required reading
- UFC 297: Dricus Du Plessis wins middleweight title vs. Sean Strickland in split decision
- Israel Adesanya defeats Alex Pereira via second-round KO at UFC 287 to reclaim middleweight belt
(Photo: Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
