Dricus Du Plessis successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Championship on Saturday at the UFC 305 main event in Perth Australia. The South African defeated Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of the fight, forcing him into submission with a rear-naked choke.
With the fight remaining close throughout the first three rounds, Du Plessis managed to resist a barrage of bodywork to counter with a trio of righthand into Adesanya, stunning the contender and enabling Du Plessis to secure the takedown and drawing out the submission at the 3:38 minute mark.
“I came in here to die for this belt or take a life,” Du Plessis stated following his victory. “Luckily, I didn’t have to do either.” He then went on to reconcile with Adesanya after the pair engaged in a feud disputing who actually is the first UFC champions from Africa. “I’m really sorry that it came across that I disrespected the fact that he’s from Africa,” Du Plessis stated after the fight. “That was never my intention. Africa would have won regardless, but tonight South Africa was the victor.” This is Du Plessis’ first title defence, having won it after beating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January this year.
