UFC 305 in Australia has its main event.
Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight title against former champion Israel Adesanya on August 17 in Perth at the RAC Arena. The 30-year-old South African fighter won the championship at UFC 297 in January, earning a split decision over Sean Strickland. His record in the UFC is 7-0 with an overall mark of 21-2 in MMA.
Adesanya, 34, is currently number 2 in the UFC middleweight rankings. He has a record of 13-3 in the UFC and 24-3 in MMA overall.
UFC president Dana White officially confirmed the fight on Monday’s edition of “The Jim Rome Show” after both Du Plessis and adesanya They indicated that the confrontation would occur on their individual social media accounts.
The SUN of Africa is the same sun that illuminates our planet.
The SUN will set and rise again until you enter it.
The SUN, enjoy it while it shines. Darkness falls as she leaves. pic.twitter.com/u5Swlzr6TW-Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) June 17, 2024
The two fighters have a feud. returning to their confrontation at UFC 290 after Du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker. But previous attempts to organize a party failed.
They were scheduled to fight at UFC 293 last September, but Du Plessis had to withdraw from the fight due to a foot injury. They then planned to meet at UFC 300 in April, but Du Plessis again withdrew, citing injuries to both legs that he suffered in his previous fight with Strickland.
Apparently, the third time is the charm. If Adesanya wins, he will join Randy Couture as the only UFC fighters to have won titles three times in the same division.
The other three fights currently scheduled for UFC 305 are flyweight bouts with Steve Erceg vs. Kai Kara-France and Tereza Bleda vs. Casey O’Neill, plus lightweights Tom Nolan and Alex Reyes facing off.