UFC 305: Israel Adesanya describes the decisive moment in the fight against Dricus Du Plessis
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Israel Adesanya determined the moment that decided his fate against Dricus Du Plessiswho challenged the former champion to defend the UFC Middleweight title on Saturday.
The main event of UFC 305 was a hard-fought and exhausting competitionDu Plessis emerged victorious in Perth thanks to a rear naked choke in round four.
Up to this point, Adesanya had largely neutralized the South African’s wrestling, but then gradually took the lead in the exchanges.
But Du Plessis landed three right hooks in a row on the retreating Adesanya in the fourth round before dragging the former two-time champion to the mat and quickly applying a rear naked choke – or a variation thereof.
“I have to watch it again because I don’t think I was shaken,” Adesanya said at the post-fight press conference. “I think I slipped and I was just like, ‘What the hell was that?’ and then he tried to catch me as I was walking out.”
“I can’t remember how he beat me up because everything in there is always a blur. It’s still fresh, it only happened 20, 30 minutes ago.”
Adesanya was referring to a moment when he appeared to stumble just seconds before Du Plessis began the finishing sequence with three right hooks.
The 35-year-old continued: “I tried to fight the top hand (after being taken to the ground and giving up the back) and I don’t know what mistake I made because I tried to spin into him. But then he fell on my back because I used the fence, maybe?
“He switched to the Gable grip, and then I couldn’t separate my hands like I wanted to. I have to look closely to really see what happened.”
Although Adesanya insisted he was not “shaken,” the ease with which Du Plessis got him back – and Adesanya’s lack of defense – suggested the former champion was not fully conscious at the time.
The Nigerian-born New Zealander assessed his performance overall as follows: “I felt great. He didn’t really surprise me because I knew he was tough. I felt like I was going to win the fight. I hurt him a few times in the body and I felt like my punch was coming because he kept reacting when I hurt his body.”
“But again, tough guy, strong spirit. I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed in myself, but I’m proud of how I did in this camp and I was well prepared.
“Losing sucks. In my eyes, I was close to winning the fight until I wasn’t. As long as I was performing, I was proud of myself. I just don’t like the result, but again, I’m not attached to the result. I’m just proud of my performance.”
The 30-year-old Du Plessis defended his middleweight title for the first time on Saturday. The South African dethroned Sean Strickland with a narrow point victory in Januaryfour months after Strickland took the belt from Adesanya.
Strickland’s decision victory over Adesanya remains one of the biggest surprises in UFC historyThe result marked the end of Adesanya’s second title run, which had lasted just five months.
Adesanya previously held the middleweight belt from 2019 to 2022, making five successful title defenses before losing the gold to old kickboxing rival Alex Pereira. Adesanya avenged that TKO loss with a knockout of Pereira in April 2023 before losing the belt to Strickland.