Israel Adesanya Denies Max Holloway Moment at UFC 305, Commentary ‘Got It Wrong'

Adesanya explains why he pointed to the canvas in Round 4 and how Dricus Du Plessis capitalized on it.

Jasmin Frank-USA TODAY Sports

Israel Adesanya wasn't trying to pull a 'Max Holloway' in his last fight at UFC 305.

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Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis

The former UFC Middleweight Champion made history in his return last weekend, but not the good kind, suffering his first-ever submission loss to middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in Perth, Australia. The defeat meant back-to-back losses for Adesanya, which is also a career-first.

Adesanya found some success early on in the fight, picking up momentum en route to the championship rounds before everything went sideways for 'The Last Stylebender' in Round 4 as Du Plessis weathered the storm, catching Adesanya with punches.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya. / Jasmin Frank-USA TODAY Sports

Taking a few good shots from Du Plessis in Round 4 that sent him on the retreat, Adesanya pointed to the mat after what looked to be a slip - but that's not what the commentators (and the fans that followed) thought, as Jon Anik quickly referenced Max Holloway's UFC 300 fight where he pointed to the mat and initiated a slugfest against Justin Gaethje before he won by last-second KO.

Izzy did the Max Holloway and was finished 17 seconds later 💀 pic.twitter.com/Dnvm8FrjRd

— Ben Davis (@BenTheBaneDavis) August 18, 2024

Israel Adesanya Clears The Air

Following the loss, Adesanya took to his YouTube channel to explain what happened in Round 4 and dismiss the idea that he'd pulled a "Holloway".

"Let me explain this because the commentary booth got it wrong," Adesanya said of the sequence on his YouTube channel. "But, again, it's on the fly, and it's what you see in real time. I was moving, and then my right ankle rolled and I tripped as he was throwing. So, to the untrained eye to or in the moment, it looked like [Max Holloway]. I think maybe Dom [Cruz] said, 'Oh, that was a really bad shot he got hit with.' And it looked like I was rocked. But, then I got up or circled out, and I pointed at the ground looking at him. And DC goes, 'He's pointing at the ground like Max Holloway...' Nope."

"What I said to him was, like, I tripped. You didn't rock me. I didn't want him to think he would rock me or anything," Adesanya explained of why he pointed to the canvas. "In hindsight, I think that moment, he used that as as a moment to just capitalize, so then he just closed the distance on me straight away. I lost focus in that moment."

Everyone’s saying Adesanya did the Max Holloway point to the ground, but it was clear he was actually pointing at the canvas to indicate he slipped, not that he was knocked down 😂 pic.twitter.com/3FmJKWOnoH

— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) August 18, 2024

"He Just Took That Momentum Away"

And capitalize is exactly what Du Plessis did, sending more punches Adesanya's way after his initial point and taking him down to the ground where he found the finish.

"Round 4 felt good, man," Adesanya reflected on the loss. "I felt like the the tide was shifting my way as the body work was working. It was all building up, just building up the crescendo. But, yeah, he just took that momentum away. But again, he's just good at what he does."

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GG DDP. GG. 🎲🎲 pic.twitter.com/niIFwKiKfx

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) August 19, 2024

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