Dricus Du Plessis will defend his UFC middleweight belt against Israel Adesanya at the upcoming UFC 305 PPV. The stage is set for the much-anticipated grudge fight that will take place in Perth, Australia. Adesanya isn’t a stranger to the Aussie crowd, but it will be DDP’s first time. However, going into the bout, the champion does have a nice surprise for his fans.
It will be Dricus Du Plessis‘s first-ever title defense since winning the bout against Sean Strickland at UFC 297. Recently, the fighter did an interview with SHAK MMA, where he donned a new mustache look. When asked about it, DDP mentioned that he never had anything like that in his life. However, fans might not see the South African fighter take the mustache to the fight because of one reason.
I’ve never had a mustache in my whole life…. I’m probably not going to fight with this, I don’t think my mum and dad is gonna like it, at all.
Dricus Du Plessis via SHAK MMA
The Australian crowd is famous for bringing out a different level of energy to the fight week. The fight card features several local and Kiwi stars, including Steve Erceg, Dan Hooker, Tai Tuivasa, etc. However, given the ongoing rivalry, all eyes are set on the main event clash between Adesanya and DDP.
Dricus Du Plessis: “I’ve never had a mustache in my whole life. I’m probably not going to fight with this, I don’t think my mum and dad is gonna like it, at all.” 💀
(via @Shak_Fu) pic.twitter.com/WpOB9tjyhl
— Full Violence ™ (@Full_Violence) August 8, 2024
The bad blood between the fighters started a long ago and has developed slowly with time. Du Plessis has an incredible finishing record and is confident about knocking out Adesanya and retiring the former two-time champion. On the other hand, for Israel Adesanya, this is a start to his redemption arc.
Israel Adesanya talks about his near-death experience ahead of the Dricus Du Plessis fight at UFC 305
Israel Adesanya ruled the UFC middleweight champion for years and defeated every challenger. However, his reign was abruptly stopped by Alex Pereira, and later, Sean Strickland dethroned him as well. With many fans considering this to be the end of Adesanya’s dominance, ‘Stylebender’ has no plans to give up just yet.
Israel Adesanya reveals near-death experience before the Dricus Du Plessis fight (via Instagram/X)Ahead of the fight with Dricus Du Plessis, Adesanya talked about the significance of the fight. He returns after almost a year despite claiming to leave the sport for a longer hiatus. Izzy also mentioned his near-death experience, which changed his perspective of the fight.
This fight’s awesome, it’s really important to me. One of the most important fights of my life, but it’s not everything… Last week something happened where I could’ve died, and also someone else could have died. It could have been really bad.
Israel Adesanya via The Rock
Adesanya’s last fight was almost a year ago. The fighter has utilized the time to gain weight and increase his power. Ahead of the fight, Izzy has been trying various new things, including intense underwater training. The hype around the fight is massive; seeing who takes the crown of ‘The Real African’ at UFC 305 would be interesting.
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