Israel Adesanya has lost a title challenge match to the middleweight title Champion, South Africa, Dricus du Plessis.
In his first title defense, Du Plessis forced Adesanya to tap in the fourth-round as a locked in rear-naked choke brought the middleweight title back to South African.
From the onset, Adesanya looked to be in control of the match, as his striking kept Du Plessis at bay for much of the match.
However, continued flurries from the champion opened up an opportunity to take Adesanya down, which resulted in the win.
There were 12 fights on the card in Perth, including big wins from Kai Kara-France and Dan Hooker. Here’s everything that went down at UFC 305.
UFC 305 saw fighters throwing down at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Saturday night — at least that’s when Americans were watching. The actual fighting began Sunday morning on the ground in Western Australia.
The fight felt evenly matched, with both combatants getting good shots and combos in throughout. But Du Plessis turned the tide suddenly.
He landed a vicious left to Adesanya’s head, and shortly after followed it up with three strong rights to the head. He pulled Adesanya down and locked in a rear-naked choke. Adesanya tapped, giving Du Plessis the submission win at 3:38 of the fourth.
There were some good exchanges in a methodical first round. Du Plessis got a small cut on his forehead but neither fighter seemed particularly worse for wear.
Things picked up in the second round. Du Plessis shot for a takedown and the fight finally went to the ground. Du Plessis was in control and tried to lock in chokes but Adesanya was able to escape and get back to his feet. The champ managed at least two other takedowns in the frame.
Adesanya seemed to take back control of the fight in the third, landing a few big shots to Du Plessis’ body. Adesanya also hit a pretty awesome elbow. But Du Plessis had a response with some big punching combos.
The start of the fourth round felt very similar, with Adesanya getting good punches in. But Du Plessis once again had an answer and, before the round was through, had a sudden victory.
The men embraced after the fight, and again after their interviews, seeming to put the bad blood that had built between them in the past. Du Plessis was quite complimentary of Adesanya in his post-fight interview.
So, what’s next for the champ? Well, if Alex Pereira has his way, it’s a matchup with “Poatan.” Shortly after the bout, Pereira — the former middleweight champ and current light heavyweight champ — took to Instagram to say he’s “coming down to 185 one more time.”
As for Adesanya, the former champ admitted he didn’t know what his future holds after dropping his second straight bout.
But he channeled Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street” and declared he’s not leaving — complete with all the appropriate expletives.
