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Remains king at 185 pounds
Du Plessis successfully defended the UFC Middleweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Israel Adesanya via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:38 of Round 4 at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia.
ANALYSIS
It's literally impossible to attempt to accurately break down a du Plessis fight. There's no one on the UFC roster, man or woman, that comes close to fighting a similar style. DDP was up 29-28 on two of the three scorecards, but it easily could have be reversed. Dricus was giving up plenty of volume to Izzy in exchange for landing the more powerful blows. That said, it was his grappling game that won him the fight. With du Plessis seemingly tiring late in Round 4 and in all sorts of trouble, he clocked Adesanya with a few blows along the fence which led to an easy takedown. He then quickly clamped on the rear-naked choke that ended the fight. Dricus has a unique ability to fight through even the most difficult situations. It cannot be taught. He always looks gassed, but he's never out of a fight. Undefeated for going on six years now, DDP is 8-0 in the UFC with six stoppage victories. His last three wins are over Adesanya, Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker. The South African is off to one of the greatest runs to begin his UFC career in company history.
It's literally impossible to attempt to accurately break down a du Plessis fight. There's no one on the UFC roster, man or woman, that comes close to fighting a similar style. DDP was up 29-28 on two of the three scorecards, but it easily could have be reversed. Dricus was giving up plenty of volume to Izzy in exchange for landing the more powerful blows. That said, it was his grappling game that won him the fight. With du Plessis seemingly tiring late in Round 4 and in all sorts of trouble, he clocked Adesanya with a few blows along the fence which led to an easy takedown. He then quickly clamped on the rear-naked choke that ended the fight. Dricus has a unique ability to fight through even the most difficult situations. It cannot be taught. He always looks gassed, but he's never out of a fight. Undefeated for going on six years now, DDP is 8-0 in the UFC with six stoppage victories. His last three wins are over Adesanya, Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker. The South African is off to one of the greatest runs to begin his UFC career in company history.
Scheduled against Stylebender
Du Plessis is scheduled to defend the UFC Middleweight Championship against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth on Aug. 18, per Adesanya's announcement Monday.
ANALYSIS
This will be du Plessis' first defense of the UFC Middleweight Championship. Before defeating Sean Strickland in Toronto, DDP was given a chance to compete against then-champion Adesanya at UFC 293. Dealing with an injury, du Plessis declined the opportunity, allowing Strickland to fight and defeat Stylebender. Even though DDP-Adesanya never materialized during 2023, they will get a chance to settle the score in 2024. Except for Strickland, Adesanya has both defeated each of du Plessis' opponents the latter fought en route to winning UFC gold and five defenses in his name.
This will be du Plessis' first defense of the UFC Middleweight Championship. Before defeating Sean Strickland in Toronto, DDP was given a chance to compete against then-champion Adesanya at UFC 293. Dealing with an injury, du Plessis declined the opportunity, allowing Strickland to fight and defeat Stylebender. Even though DDP-Adesanya never materialized during 2023, they will get a chance to settle the score in 2024. Except for Strickland, Adesanya has both defeated each of du Plessis' opponents the latter fought en route to winning UFC gold and five defenses in his name.
Digs deep to win UFC gold
Du Plessis won the UFC Middleweight Championship on Saturday, defeating Sean Strickland via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) at UFC 297 in Toronto.
ANALYSIS
Du Plessis deserves a ton of credit for making adjustments after a rough start in this fight. He clearly lost Round 1 after eating way too many Strickland jabs. Yet, he continued to pressure the rest of the way, firing off some leg kicks and landing some takedowns. None of the takedowns led to significant ground control, but they were money in the bank for Dricus in an exceedingly close fight. Du Plessis' cardio has been a question mark, and while he faded some in Round 5, he put forth a strong showing for the vast majority of the 25 minutes and did well enough in the middle of the fight to earn the middle three rounds from two of the judges. Ultimately, the coin flip went the way of the South African, and the competitive showing earned both men a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. Du Plessis' first title defense will almost come against former middleweight king Israel Adesanya. Buckle up.
Du Plessis deserves a ton of credit for making adjustments after a rough start in this fight. He clearly lost Round 1 after eating way too many Strickland jabs. Yet, he continued to pressure the rest of the way, firing off some leg kicks and landing some takedowns. None of the takedowns led to significant ground control, but they were money in the bank for Dricus in an exceedingly close fight. Du Plessis' cardio has been a question mark, and while he faded some in Round 5, he put forth a strong showing for the vast majority of the 25 minutes and did well enough in the middle of the fight to earn the middle three rounds from two of the judges. Ultimately, the coin flip went the way of the South African, and the competitive showing earned both men a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. Du Plessis' first title defense will almost come against former middleweight king Israel Adesanya. Buckle up.
On to championship fight
Du Plessis will fight Sean Strickland for the UFC Middleweight Championship in Toronto at UFC 297 on Jan. 20, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
Coming off an upset win over former champion Robert Whittaker, Du Plessis could have fought Israel Adesanya for middleweight gold at UFC 293 had the former not been unavailable due to a lingering injury. Adesanya fought Strickland instead, and the latter seized his opportunity to win gold. Du Plessis will fight Strickland now, with the winner expected to fight Khamzat Chimaev, who earned the right by defeating Kamaru Usman in a title eliminator.
Coming off an upset win over former champion Robert Whittaker, Du Plessis could have fought Israel Adesanya for middleweight gold at UFC 293 had the former not been unavailable due to a lingering injury. Adesanya fought Strickland instead, and the latter seized his opportunity to win gold. Du Plessis will fight Strickland now, with the winner expected to fight Khamzat Chimaev, who earned the right by defeating Kamaru Usman in a title eliminator.
Dominant win, title fight next
Du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker via TKO (punches) at 2:23 of Round 1 at UFC 290 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
It's by far the biggest victory of Du Plessis' pro career, and one that will earn him a title shot against UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya, likely at UFC 293 on September 10 in Sydney, Australia. Dricus more than deserves the opportunity after defeating a fighter that hadn't lost to anyone other than Adesanya in the past nine-plus years. Round 1 was very tight until Du Plessis threw Whittaker to the mat and split him open with an elbow and some ground-and-pound in the closing seconds. Whittaker got on track early in Round 2 before Dricus connected with a right hand that wobbled Rob and eventually forced him to the mat. Du Plessis followed up and closed the show in a dramatic effort that would go on to earn him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Most people aren't going to give Dricus much chance against Izzy, but he has size, power and is durable. Du Plesiss was a +260 underdog to Whittaker. Expect that number to climb a bit when the title fight finally rolls around.
It's by far the biggest victory of Du Plessis' pro career, and one that will earn him a title shot against UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya, likely at UFC 293 on September 10 in Sydney, Australia. Dricus more than deserves the opportunity after defeating a fighter that hadn't lost to anyone other than Adesanya in the past nine-plus years. Round 1 was very tight until Du Plessis threw Whittaker to the mat and split him open with an elbow and some ground-and-pound in the closing seconds. Whittaker got on track early in Round 2 before Dricus connected with a right hand that wobbled Rob and eventually forced him to the mat. Du Plessis followed up and closed the show in a dramatic effort that would go on to earn him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Most people aren't going to give Dricus much chance against Izzy, but he has size, power and is durable. Du Plesiss was a +260 underdog to Whittaker. Expect that number to climb a bit when the title fight finally rolls around.