MMA
Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya: What to Expect from This Middleweight Showdown?
Get ready for UFC 305's explosive middleweight showdown as Dricus Du Plessis defends his title against former champion Israel Adesanya. Can Du Plessis follow Sean Strickland's blueprint to stifle Adesanya, or will the "Last Stylebender" reclaim his throne?
On August 17th, Dricus Du Plessis is set to defend his UFC middleweight title for the first time against Israel Adesanya in Australia.
The South African won the belt from Sean Strickland, who first stole the title from Israel Adesanya in 2023, back in January after a hard-fought five round thriller.
For Du Plessis, this is very much the case of beating the guy that beat the guy, and now he faces the guy. Will Adesanya make it one and done for Du Plessis, or can “Stillknocks” make sure Bruce Buffer screams “and still” at the end of UFC 305?
Du Plessis Faces Battle-Hardened Adesanya at UFC 305
Israel Adesanya faces off against Dricus Du Plessis//Getty
Dricus Du Plessis is unbeaten in the UFC with a record of 7-0, overall he carries a nine-fight win streak heading into his first UFC middleweight title defence.
Israel Adesanya, meanwhile, has been there, seen it, and done it throughout his UFC middleweight career - the New Zealand native ruled the division for almost four years between 2019 and October 2022. He is the only fighter in UFC middleweight history to be a two-time champion in this weight class, and another win this weekend would see him become a three-time middleweight king.
Du Plessis is five years younger than the challenger and hasn't accumulated the same level of damage as Adesanya, who also carries the experience of over 80 professional boxing and kickboxing matches. On the other hand, Adesanya holds the advantage in physical attributes, being three inches taller with a four-inch reach advantage.
Breaking Down Du Plessis vs Adesanya: How Sean Strickland Set The Blueprint To Stifle “The Last Stylebender”
Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya//Getty
Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya is one of the most exciting matchups in the middleweight division. The champ throws high volume and heavy power while the challenger prefers to pick his shots and counter-attack with precision.
When Adesanya lost the belt to Sean Strickland via decision at UFC 293 he was very much beaten to the punch on almost every occasion probably for the first time in his career. That night Strickland landed 137 significant strikes compared to 94 for “The Last Stylebender” - the American landed 54% of his significant strikes versus the Nigerian's 34%.
This fight between Du Plessis vs Adesanya could very well look similar to the main event at UFC 293, here's why…
Strickland dominated Adesanya by having a very active defensive guard whilst walking forward at the same time. That active guard allowed him to get in the pocket and land some beautiful combinations which backed Adesanya up and really stifled his entire game.
Du Plessis has the ability to follow that blueprint; while he may not have the same defensive style as Strickland, his significant strikes landed per minute average in the UFC is higher than the American's. In fact, his average of 6.49 significant strikes landed per minute sees him hold the record for the highest number in that statistic in the history of the UFC's Middleweight class.
Strickland had Adesanya hurt in the first round of their fight but you never really felt confident in him getting Adesanya out of there. It's fair to say the South African carries a lot more power in everything he throws than Strickland, so if he does wobble Adesanya then things could get very interesting.
There's also the threat of a takedown to deal with - the champion averages three takedowns per every 15 minutes in the octagon, and he also has ten submission victories to his name. Adesanya's grappling was exposed against Jan Blachowicz when he stepped up to the light-heavyweight division in 2021, but we've not seen him on his back since.
Looking at it on the flip side, Adesanya's chances to counter strike will be a lot higher in this fight than against Strickland because Du Plessis really does throw everything into his strikes, which at times causes him to be off balance with his defence left wide open.
Adesanya has a clear technique advantage in this bout, and he is one of the best strikers the sport has ever seen when he gets into his groove, so Du Plessis must make it ugly.
The champion must be aggressive in this matchup but it has to be smart aggression; if he swarms Adesanya with no thought process behind what he's doing then this fight could end in the same way the Nigerian defeated Robbie Whittaker.
Jake Staniland is a sports writer who excels in covering a wide range of sports: football, combat sports and the NFL - All three subjects are his lifelong passions.
Jake is a boyhood Sheffield United fan, which is often a curse that he thanks his family for. His favourite Blades player ever is Billy Sharp