Dricus du PlessisvsIsrael Adesanya

Setup

UFC 305 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Dricus du Plessis entered as the middleweight champion after his controversial split-decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297. Israel Adesanya, having lost his title to Strickland at UFC 293 the previous September, was on a one-fight win streak (Strickland → DDP via Strickland's loss).

The pre-fight tension was unusually personal — DDP and Adesanya had a long-running back-and-forth dating to 2022, with DDP openly stating he wanted to be the first Africa-born champion to win the title while training in Africa (Adesanya is Nigerian-born but trains at City Kickboxing in New Zealand). The pre-fight press conferences included multiple physical altercations.

The fight

Rounds 1-2: DDP's unorthodox striking and pressure pace gave Adesanya trouble. Adesanya landed several clean counters but could not establish a rhythm because DDP's offensive patterns were genuinely unpredictable — varying combinations, mixing levels, using awkward footwork.

Round 3: DDP secured a takedown and worked to back control. Adesanya defended for nearly 3 minutes before DDP transitioned to a body triangle.

Round 4: From back control with a body triangle, DDP set up the rear-naked choke. Adesanya defended the initial choke attempt but DDP repositioned and secured the second attempt. Adesanya tapped at 3:38 of round 4.

What changed

The fight cemented several outcomes:

• Du Plessis was a legitimate champion: the unorthodox style is not a fluke; it produces real results against championship-level opposition
• Adesanya's third consecutive MW loss: the Strickland-DDP-Pereira (rematch) loss sequence was the end of his championship era. He lost the title to Strickland (decision), failed to regain it from DDP (submission), and had previously lost to Pereira (KO at UFC 281).
• The Africa-born champion narrative was complete: DDP openly framed the win as a moment for African MMA, with his training and family roots in South Africa

Significance

UFC 305 confirmed the post-Adesanya MW era. The middleweight title has been held by Strickland (1 fight), DDP (since UFC 297, retained at UFC 305), and the post-DDP picture is open. Khamzat Chimaev is in the contender mix; Nassourdine Imavov has won a string of contender fights.

For Adesanya, the loss was the third in a row at MW after the championship phase of his career. He has not been in title contention since UFC 305.