Israel Adesanya has seemingly confirmed that he’ll problem Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title at UFC 305, after months of hypothesis.
Adesanya and Du Plessis confronted off within the cage final July, after the latter earned a shock TKO win over Robert Whittaker, however the path to a battle between the pair has not been easy.
Adesanya, who held the title on the time, went on to drop the belt to Sean Strickland in September. That outcome, a choice win for Strickland, was one of many greatest upsets in UFC historical past.
Then, in January, South Africa’s Du Plessis dethroned the American with a choice win, finishing his bid to change into – in his personal phrases – “the primary actual African champion” within the UFC.
These phrases beforehand angered Adesanya, who – like former champions Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou – was born in Africa, thus the heated nature of his face-off with Du Plessis final summer time.
Du Plessis, nonetheless, clarified that his objective was to change into the primary UFC champion not solely to be born in Africa but in addition to stay and prepare there. Adesanya resides in New Zealand, Usman lives within the US, and Ngannou had French citizenship when he gained the UFC heavyweight title.
It was unclear whether or not Du Plessis’s first title defence would come towards Strickland or Adesanya, however the American as an alternative fought and beat Paulo Costa this month, ruling him out of an August bout with Du Plessis.
And August was seemingly at all times the goal for Du Plessis’ first title defence, as he prepares to compete in Australia on 17 August. With that in thoughts, Adesanya will return to the nation the place he gained the belt in 2019, and the place he misplaced it to Strickland in September.
“The SUN of Africa is similar solar that lights up our planet,” tweeted the previous two-time champion on Monday (17 June), alongside a seemingly fan-made poster promoting his battle with Du Plessis. “The SUN will set and can rise once more till you stroll into it. The SUN, take pleasure in whereas it shines. Darkness falls when it’s gone.”
UFC 305 is scheduled to happen on the RAC Enviornment in Perth. Althought the UFC is but to formally announce any fights for the occasion, CEO Dana White laughed after listening to about Adesanya’s publish and confirmed the matchup is now official.
“Apparently he already introduced his personal battle,” White stated on The Jim Rome Present. “He’s combating in Perth. Du Plessis. August 17 in Perth. Now it’s official. He didn’t inform us. I noticed that he had introduced it. There it’s. It’s true.”
