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Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya Preview & Picks – Adesanya To Regain Title At UFC 305
- Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya picks for Saturday, August 17
- UFC 305 is taking place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia
- Preview, predictions, stats & form
- Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya Preview & Picks
- Dricus Du Plessis Form
- Israel Adesanya Form
Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya Preview & Picks
Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya Preview & Picks
Israel Adesanya is backed to become a three-time middleweight champion.
Adesanya remains one of the most talented strikers in MMA and his grappling continues to improve.
Not only can he punish Du Plessis’ aggression, he can also dictate distance to keep the champion off him.
- Israel Adesanya is 13-2 while competing in UFC’s middleweight division
- 5 of Israel Adesanya’s last 7 fights have gone the full five rounds
- Israel Adesanya has a 4” reach advantage over Dricus Du Plessis
- Israel Adesanya has a 77% takedown defense
Dricus Du Plessis Form
Dricus Du Plessis is the reigning UFC middleweight champion with a career record of 21-2 (9 KOs, 10 Subs).
Du Plessis debuted in the UFC in October 2020, knocking out Markus Perez in the first round of the contest.
He backed that up with a second-round knockout of Trevin Giles, before claiming a unanimous decision victory over Brad Tavares.
His first notable fight in the UFC saw him submit Darren Till in the second round, and he then backed that up with a second-round stoppage of Derek Brunson.
Du Plessis secured a title eliminator fight with those wins, and he earned himself a crack as the title with a second-round knockout of former champion Robert Whittaker in July 2023.
After several months of waiting he finally got his title fight in January of this year, and he took his big chance with a split decision success against Sean Strickland.
Israel Adesanya Form
Israel Adesanya is a two-time former UFC middleweight champion with a career record of 24-3 (16 KOs).
Adesanya arrived in the UFC back in February 2018 and made an immediate splash as he fought, and won, four times that year.
His rapid climb up the ladder continued in 2019 when he beat the legendary Anderson Silva in points, before beating Kelvin Gastelum via decision in an interim title fight.
‘The Last Stylebender’ was then crowned the official champion of the division in October of that year as he knocked out Robert Whittaker in the second round to win the title.
From there he beat Yoel Romero by decision and Paulo Costa by second-round TKO to defend his title, before taking a shot at becoming a two-weight world champion.
Adesanya moved up to face light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz, but his audacious bid add another belt ended in failure as he lost by decision.
The 35-year-old returned to the 185lb ranks after that and continued his dominance of the division with unanimous decision wins over Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier.
His reign came to a shocking end in November 2022 though, as he was sensationally knocked out in the fifth round by former kickboxing rival Alex Pereira.
Adesanya’s response to that setback was emphatic – a second-round knockout of Pereira to reclaim the title.
However, he then shockingly lost the belt in his first defence, suffering a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Sean Strickland in September of last year.
Verdict
Israel Adesanya has lost the aura of invincibility, but he remains one of the best in the game.
If he can control the distance and make this a largely stand-up affair, his classy striking can guide him to a third reign as middleweight champion.
If he can control the distance and make this a largely stand-up affair, his classy striking can guide him to a third reign as middleweight champion.
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Use promo code NEWBONUS
Sign up with the code NEWBONUS. When you verify your account get 25 Stake Cash for free PLUS 250,000 Gold Coins and 5% Rakeback! No deposit required. Login each day for the next 30 days and get an additional 30 Stake Cash AND 300,000 Gold Coins. 21+ only. T&Cs apply. Excludes WA, NY, NV, ID, KY, MI, VT, NJ, DE, WV, PA, RI & MD.
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