It would appear top brass is ready to pencil in future bouts for the winner of Saturday’s middleweight title fight at UFC 305. The pay-per-view headliner in the Down Under sees former champ Israel Adesanya take on Dricus Du Plessis. Should Du Plessis come out the victor in Saturday’s maiden defense at UFC 305, head honcho Dana White promises to take the matter to his homestead.
This is no new sentiment, with champs wanting thematic pay-per-views in prime venues in their parts. Spaniard Ilia Topuria has lobbied for the same. Promotion CEO White was empathetically giving statements on Tuesday’s Dana White’s Contender Series 67 post-fight conference. He indicated that with ‘Stilknocks’ winning, the banner follows the champ home with a South African UFC PPV event.
Everything is on the line [Tuesday], specially because they dislike each other so much…And if he can beat Izzy and bring the belt back to South Africa, uh, obviously, we’re doing it back there. And, uh, if Izzy can win the title…suits for having his legacy…
Dana White a the DWCS 67 (Season 8) post-fight conference interviews; H/T: SBNation Network
Dricus Du Plessis vowed to earn gold for his country or die trying before the UFC 297 PPV headliner in January. He edged out Sean Strickland to a number game via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47). The 30-year-old middleweight received the hero’s welcome home per usual. He also went viral, taking a stand against the current SA administration in an on-air conversation with @eNCA TV news channel.
Dana White confirms that if Dricus du Plessis was to defend his title at UFC 305, than the UFC would hold an event in South Africa🇿🇦
🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/eAvqkFvoC9— Sidney (@NoRageSidney) August 14, 2024
Israel Adesanya subsequently sports the rare opportunity of becoming a three-time champ. Accordingly, the DraftKings sportsbook line has Adesanya as a slight -115 betting favorite. However, if the popular South African champ maintains his gold, UFC South Africa will be a reality. Izzy has scuffled on racially-charged issues as a title challenger. But this provides a win-win for the African sports titans all around.
Israel Adesanya’s coach weighs in on the need for ‘balance’ ahead
During the DWCS 67 post-fight conference, Dana White reiterated that No.1 ranking 185-pound standout Strickland receives a shot next. ‘Tarzan’ might either rematch Du Plessis or Adesanya, considering who comes out on top. As such, either matchups remain challenging for all parties.
Israel Adesanya has quite the stress test ahead at UFC 305 (Source: the-sun.co.uk/X)Izzy succumbed to Sean Strickland’s forward pressure and lost his gold at UFC 293. Strickland also nullified Adesanya’s forward pressure by checking leg kicks and using his version of the Philly Shell. Similar to Strickland’s defense stomps and shell-boxing, Dricus Du Plessis and his awkward bursts also pose a challenge. City Kickboxing head coach Eugene Bareman has plans for that.
The trick is really – we know Israel can go forward, and we know Israel can fight off the back foot, and he can do really well off the front foot…But the trick is finding the balance of what we need…And that’s going to be part of the challenge of the fight of the night, because that’s going to be an adjustment.
Eugene Bareman to Casper Dennis for ‘Submission Radio’ Show (@SubmissionRadio) for SBNation Network
Along with host Casper Dennis and Mike Angove, Frank Hickman, and Andrei Paulet, the CKB team coach said there had to be adjustments tweaked on the fly. It is not just about the challenge ahead but also about the essence of who and what in the whole fight. Now that UFC offered him a title fight retribution after a long hiatus, it’s quite a stress test. As such, all bets are off in the final phase.
