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UFC 305: Dricus Du Plessis Submits Israel Adesanya in Sensational Main Event

The main event of UFC 305 was a highly-anticipated middleweight title fight.

Drew Beaupre

(Zuffa LLC)

Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya finally got to settle their bad blood when they met in a middleweight title fight that headlined UFC 305.

UFC 305: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya Free Live Stream Results & Highlights

Du Plessis Submits Adesanya in UFC 305 Main Event

Fans originally began clamoring for a matchup between the two middleweights after Du Plessis knocked out Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 and then had a viral face off in the cage with Adesanya, but when "The Last Stylebender" suffered an upset-loss to Sean Strickland it threw the highly-anticipated grudge match in jeopardy.

Adesanya originally claimed he'd be taking some extended time off after losing his title, but Du Plessis' split decision-win over Strickland at UFC 297 set the stage for the two-time champion to return at UFC 305 and attempt to claim the middleweight belt for a third time.

The opening round saw both men test each other's striking defense and Adesanya stuff a lone takedown attempt from the champion, but in the second frame Du Plessis was able to bring things to the ground and briefly establish a dominant position before "The Last Stylebender" fought back to his feet.

Du Plessis continued trying to pursue takedowns for the remainder of the second round, however once things kicked off in the third Adesanya established more of a rhythm with his striking and found particular success landing body shots.

Adesanya got right back to the body work in the fourth round, but a tremendous rally from Du Plessis saw the champion send "The Last Stylebender" to the canvas and lock up a rear naked choke to successfully defend his middleweight belt for the first time.

The middleweight title fight closed out a UFC 305 main card that began with Carlos Prates handing Li Jingliang the first knockout-loss of his career, and in the co-main event Kai Kara-France snapped a two-fight skid when he stopped Steve Erceg in the first round of their flyweight matchup.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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