SINCE making his UFC debut in Abu Dhabi four years ago, Dricus du Plessis has dominated the middleweights and bulldozed his way to become the undisputed champion of the division.
This weekend, the South African is set to defend his title for the first time when he clashes with the best fighter the division has ever seen, Israel Adesanya – who hails from Nigeria, but fights out of New Zealand – at UFC 305 at the RAC Arena in Perth on Sunday.
Du Plessis will have the Springboks for company in Western Australia, as the world champions face the Wallabies in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash at Optus Stadium, and some of the players will attend the bout as well, with many South Africans who now reside in Perth also present.
We picked five advantages Du Plessis has in the match-up with Adesanya...
Big Fight Temperament
The last time Du Plessis was in a similarly heated rivalry was during his Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) days, when he fought Yannick Bahati, who was cocky and trash-talked right through the build-up to that fight.
With a guillotine choke, Du Plessis stunned Bahati and put a decisive end to their rivalry.
In his rivalry with Adesanya, the ‘Africanism’ debate has created a lot of tension. These types of rivalries seem to bring out the best in Du Plessis, and this fight is no different.
Fight week finally!
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) August 12, 2024
You’re not finding the peace you’ve been seeking around these parts
Awkward Fighting Style
Once in a while, there comes a fighter with a unique style in the UFC and revolutionises the sport.
From the Dagestani grapplers of the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov to the Brazillian Jiujutsu specialists in Charles Oliveira, who changed the fight game at large with their unique set of skills, Du Plessis has slowly made a similar impact in his four-year career with the UFC.
His awkward yet intelligent movements in the octagon, tempo and combinations make it very hard for his opponents to read and time him well enough to formulate a plan against him. If anything, Adesanya's biggest threat in this fight is Du Plessis’ awkward style.
Relentless Forward Pressure
In each of Du Plessis’ seven fights in the UFC, including the title fight against Sean Strickland earlier this year, he always fought on the front foot.
Be it a three- or five-round fight, the South African keeps moving forward in his fights, forcing his opponents to fight on their heels and moving backwards, which is a bad position to fight from.
Given that Adesanya struggled against Strickland’s forward pressure last September – the same Strickland who struggled against Du Plessis’ forward pressure earlier this year – Adesanya will have a long night against Du Plessis in Perth.
A bit of home on the road 🇿🇦@DricusDuPlessis meets his fellow South Africans in the latest #UFC305 Embedded!
Watch now 👉 https://t.co/4AkWzk5zNO pic.twitter.com/UU1jAgjiLe
Hunger for Accolades
Unlike Adesanya, who is a two-time middleweight champion and arguably the best middleweight in the history of the UFC, Du Plessis is hungry to make a name for himself.
In title fights, skills, speed and all the technical stuff tend to have minimal effect.
Instead, it is almost always the will and hunger of the fighters that tend to decide who walks away with the belt around his waist.
Du Plessis is hungry, determined and on his way to cementing himself as one of the greats, while Adesanya’s accolades might make him a little less determined.
ONE WEEK AWAY 👀
— UFC (@ufc) August 11, 2024
Who do you got? #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/NBRYTi5zBf
Activity Rate
Since coming into the UFC, Adesanya has been one of the most active fighters, fighting three to four times every calendar year.
However, following his 11-month break after losing his title to Strickland last September, Adesanya heads into this fight the least active fighter.
Having fought this year already, Du Plessis will have no octagon rust whatsoever, but with Adesanya, it remains to be seen whether or not his inactivity will work against him or not in Perth on Sunday.