Dricus Du Plessis scored a win via rear-naked choke in Round 4 to retain the UFC middleweight championship against Israel Adesanya Saturday in Perth, Australia.
HIS FIRST TITLE DEFENSE IN STYLE ????????????@DricusDuPlessis defeats Israel Adesanya by Submission to remain the MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD
[ B2YB: @DrinkMonaco | #UFC305 ] pic.twitter.com/0jRzNPERK2
— UFC (@ufc) August 18, 2024
Dricus Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) was ahead on the scorecards 2-1 at the time of the stoppage. But after round 3 it looked like Adesanya was starting to take control of the fight by landing numerous shots to the body on Du Plessis. Going into the 4th round the champion knew that he had to respond to seize the momentum back.
As the 4th round started both fighters were asserting their gameplan on each other. Izzy seemed to continue to building the momentum from the 3rd round until Du Plessis landed consecutive hooks to Izzy’s face which hurt him more that it looked like. The champion was able to take him down and apply the rear-naked choke that made Izzy tap to put an end to the fight.
“I came in here to die for this belt or take a life,” Du Plessis said. “Luckily, I didn’t have to do either.”
This fight became a cultural debate as Du Plessis said that he’s the first real championship from Africa (South Africa) born and raised. Despite previous champions African-born UFC champions Adesanya, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou. That really got under the skin of Adesanya. Without a doubt that was a mind game tactic that seemed to have worked for Dricus Du Plessis.
Bad blood not so much
After the fight the two fighters had a long embraced and looked to have solved their issues that they had with each other. Which is always good to see after two great warriors give it their during a great battle.
“I’m really sorry that it came across that I disrespected the fact that he’s from Africa,” Du Plessis, 30, said afterward. “That was never my intention. Africa would have won regardless, but tonight South Africa was the victor.
“It was an honor for me to share this cage with a legend, and I have the utmost respect for him.”
This is the first losing streak of Adesanya’s (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) career and he’s at a crossroads on what’s next for him. One thing is clear though is that Izzy isn’t going anywhere by replying to what’s next for his future. “I’m not f—ing leaving!
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
