- Will take on middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis
- Comes after losing to Sean Strickland in Sydney at UFC 293
- Were meant to meet at UFC 293 but du Plessis was injured
Perth’s UFC 305 main event has been confirmed with Israel Adesanya set to challenge middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.
UFC president Dana White announced the fight on The Jim Rome Show after Adesanya hinted at it in a cryptic social media post.
‘The sun of Africa is the same sun that lights up our planet,’ Adesanya wrote.
‘The sun will set and will rise again until you walk into it. The sun, enjoy while it shines. Darkness falls when it’s gone.’
This announcement comes just months after Adesanya called Australian MMA fans ‘racist’ for supporting American Sean Strickland in their title bout at UFC 293.
At the September 10 event in Sydney, Adesanya lost to Strickland in one of the most shocking results in UFC history.
Israel Adesanya was not happy with Aussie fans cheering on his opposition in Sydney at UFC 293 and labelled them racist
‘The Last Stylebender’ announced his return to Australia with this social media post
Strickland had much of the crowd on his side, even winning over Aussie fans during the lead-up by wearing a Crocodile Dundee-style hat and a t-shirt with ‘For the people, by the people’ printed on it.
Adesanya, who is 34 and a former two-time middleweight champion, wasn’t surprised by the support for Strickland.
‘Nah, they’re racist,’ Adesanya said.
‘I think it was just me, them, it wasn’t my week. It was just him. He knows how to pander. He’s a great politician, I’ll put it that way. It was just his week, his moment to shine, and what a reign.’
Strickland secured an upset victory over Adesanya after getting the home fans on his side
The Adesanya versus du Plessis fight has been over a year in the making.
Both fighters shared a heated moment in the cage after du Plessis’ upset win over Robert Whittaker last July.
They were initially scheduled to fight at UFC 293 in Sydney, but du Plessis was forced out with an injury.
Adesanya instead fought and lost to Sean Strickland, who then relinquished the title in his first defense against du Plessis at UFC 297 in Toronto in January.
It was supposed to be du Plessis that fought Adesanya in Sydney but he was injured at the time
Adesanya, who lives in nearby Auckland, New Zealand, hasn’t fought since his defeat to Strickland but remains a top fighter and a big star in the UFC.
Du Plessis is on an impressive run in the UFC, having beaten Darren Till, Derek Brunson, Whittaker, and Strickland. Their rivalry threatened to turn ugly as both men claimed they were the ‘true African champion.’
The winner of the middleweight title clash could face Whittaker later this year, assuming the Aussie star can overcome Ikram Aliskerov.
UFC 305 is also expected to feature Steve Erceg against Kai-Kara France, while the availability of rising Aussie star Jack Della Maddalena remains unclear.
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