At UFC 305, South African Dricus du Plessis survived four rounds of vicious body shots before submitting Israel Adesanya to keep his middleweight title. Du Plessis (22-2) had to withstand a barrage of body strikes from Adesanya throughout the middle rounds after securing a few early takedowns. It seemed as though the 30-year-old South African was tiring as the battle went on.
However, du Plessis found the opportunity he needed in the fourth round when he delivered a right punch to the side of Adesanya’s head. Quickly gaining the takedown and neck grip, he forced the New Zealander, who was born in Nigeria, to tap out. The South African defeated opponents for the third time this year, having previously prevailed over Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 297 in January. The victory took place in Perth’s sold-out RAC Arena.
In an attempt to become a three-time middleweight champion, 35-year-old Adesanya (24-4) was making his first appearance since relinquishing the middleweight belt to Strickland in Sydney in September of last year via unanimous decision. Former hometown hero Steve Erceg lost his flyweight match to Kai Kara-France of New Zealand after being knocked out in the opening frame. It was Erceg’s first bout since champion Alexandre Pantoja decisively defeated him at UFC 301 in Brazil in May.