This past Saturday in the main event of UFC 305, the middleweight title was on the line. “The Last Stylebender” Israel Adesanya (24-4) was looking to regain the middleweight title as he took on South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis (22-2).
Adesanya lost the title last September against Sean Strickland and DDP took the title from Strickland back in January. That led to this heated matchup that fans have waited well over a year for. The fight lived up to the hype and definitely didn’t disappoint the fans.
From the opening bell, this fight was great. In the first round, Adesanya had his moments, but it felt like the bigger shots were landed by DDP and I gave him the first round as did two of the judges. DDP used his wrestling to control much of the second round and all three judges gave that round to him.
In the third round, Adesanya really found his footing. He started ripping big shots to the body and really felt like he was coming on as the fight went on. Two of three judges gave the third to Adesanya. Entering the championship rounds at UFC 305, the fight was razor close but momentum seemed to be with Stylebender.
After a strong start to the fourth, Adesanya got blasted with some big shots from Du Plessis. DDP got behind Adesanya and landed three vicious rights and chained those into a takedown where he immediately got the back of Adesanya. From there, he secured a rear naked choke to retain the UFC middleweight title.
What’s next after UFC 305?
This is a really tough one for Israel Adesanya to swallow. Physically, this was the best he’s ever looked. He looked extremely well prepared and a couple of small mistakes led to this loss. However, I think he’s still one of the very best in the world and in his post-fight speech, he made it clear that he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
So, what’s next for the former UFC middleweight champion. Well, it’s clear that Sean Strickland is getting the next shot at Dricus Du Plessis. In October at UFC 307, Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker are facing off. I wouldn’t mind seeing Adesanya face the winner. Sure, he’s already fought Whittaker twice.
That said, both him and Whittaker are in a weird spot where they’ve already beaten the majority of the other top contenders in the division. If the promotion could draw things up perfect, Chimaev would beat Whittaker which would setup a sensational matchup between Chimaev and Israel Adesanya. I’d make that a five-round co-main on the same card that DDP faces off against Strickland. If Adesanya could win that fight, he’d be right back in there for a rematch with either Strickland or Du Plessis.