Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC 305, we are going to see a heated battle for the middleweight championship. Current champion Dricus Du Plessis (21-2) will look to successfully defend his title for the first time as he takes on former two-time middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-3).
This fight is taking place a year after we thought it would and both men are in opposite roles. After Dricus Du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker last July, the two men had a heated face-off inside the octagon. Adesanya was the champion and it sounded like DDP was going to challenge him last September.
However, DDP suffered an injury and Sean Strickland stepped in. Strickland defeated Adesanya and then in January at UFC 297, Du Plessis won a close decision over Strickland to win the title. Now, we are getting the grudge match that we wanted all along, just the champion walking in isn’t who we thought it be.
UFC 305 Prediction
I’m very curious to see how Israel Adesanya looks tomorrow night. It’s been about a year since he’s been away and he has gotten physically stronger during his time away. Adesanya looks noticeably bulkier and I’m wondering if that will play to his favor or if it’ll be a disadvantage.
For DDP, we know what his strategy is going to be. He’s going to try and be a bully at UFC 305. He wants to close the distance and make this a pure dog fight with clinch striking, grappling, and phone booth fighting. He does not want to stay at range with Adesanya who could just pick him apart from the outside.
I thought DDP was going to be a very tough challenge when Adesanya was champion. His style, toughness, and pressure was really going to play. Nothing has changed, but I can’t help but shake a feeling that Adesanya is going to regain the title at UFC 305.
While I see DDP having success throughout, I think the bigger moments will come from range. In fact, I think we see Adesanya rock Du Plessis badly on the feet. He’ll chop his legs down with kicks and ultimately, I think Adesanya scores his a finish in the championship rounds to regain the middleweight title.
Prediction: Israel Adesanya by TKO