UFC 305 in Australia has its main event.
Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight title against Israel Adesanya on August 17 in Perth at the RAC Arena. The South African fighter, 30, won the championship at UFC 297 in January, earning a split decision over Sean Strickland. His UFC record is 7-0 with an overall mark of 21-2 in MMA.
Adesanya, 34, is currently No. 2 in the UFC middleweight rankings. He has previously held the UFC middleweight and light heavyweight championships. He has a 13-3 record in UFC and a 24-3 record in MMA overall.
UFC President Dana White officially confirmed the fight after both on Monday’s edition of “The Jim Rome Show.” Du Plessis And Adesanya indicated the matchup would take place on their individual social media accounts.
☀️🌍🌘
The SUN of Africa is the same sun that lights our planet.
The SUN sets and rises again until you bump into it. 🌅
The SUN, enjoy it while it shines. Darkness falls when it is gone. pic.twitter.com/u5Swlzr6TW— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) June 17, 2024
The two fighters previously attempted to match up at last September’s UFC 293, but Du Plessis was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an injured foot. They then planned to fight at UFC 300 in April, but Du Plessis bowed out again, citing injuries to both legs 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 win titles in the same division three times.
The other three fights scheduled for UFC 305 are flyweight bouts with Steve Erceg vs. Kai Kara-France and Tereza Bleda vs. Casey O’Neill, in addition to lightweights Tom Nolan and Alex Reyes facing off.
