Driscus Du Plessis (22-2) submitted Israel Adesanya (24-4) to retain the middleweight championship at UFC 305 from the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Adesanya was one step ahead of the champ early in the first round. Du Plessis continued to rush in, finding openings occasionally with big right hand shots. Adesanya chipped away with a body shot just before the end of the round.
To open the second, both fighters seemed to be evenly matched. Du Plessis managed to get Adesanya to the ground and took his back, but the challenger found his way out of a rear naked choke and back to his feet. Du Plessis tried to go back to Adesanya’s back without a ton of success through the end of the round.
In the third, Adesanya avoided takedowns and began to find his range. He hit a spinning back elbow that seemed to stun the champ momentarily. Du Plessis continued to rush Adesanya, overwhelming him with speed and size. Toward the end of the round, Du Plessis was gassed as the challenger continued to chip his way back to UFC gold.
Adesanya worked up top and the body with a swift combination before Du Plessis shot for a takedown to no avail. Du Plessis had nothing left in his arms as he continued to eat shots from Adesanya. He hurt the challenger late in the round, swarmed him with shots, got a takedown, and earned the submission victory by taking his back (watch the video here and here).
Du Plessis turned down the UFC’s first offer for a title fight against Adesanya last September, with the champ ultimately dropping the title to Sean Strickland. Du Plessis came into Saturday night unbeaten in his UFC career, with two knockout victories over former title contenders last year in Derek Brunson and Robert Whittaker, and a decision win over Strickland.
The UFC 305 main event offered the scene for Adesanya’s return to the Octagon for the first time since he lost to Strickland.