How Du Plessis Won the UFC Middleweight Title Fight Against Adesanya

How Du Plessis Won the UFC Middleweight Title Fight Against Adesanya

  • Dricus Du Plessis has retained his UFC middleweight championship title after defeating New Zealand's Israel Adesanya in Australia
  • The Nigerian-born fighter missed out on the opportunity to reclaim the middleweight belt as he submitted to the South African
  • A Nigerian combat sports analyst has narrated how DDP managed to defeat Adesanya at the RAC Arena

It's no longer news that Dricus Du Plessis successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Championship title by defeating Israel Adesanya on Sunday.

The South African fighter forced the Nigerian-born MMA star to tap out in the fourth round to retain the UFC middleweight belt at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Dricus Du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya in the UFC middleweight championship fight in Australia.
Dricus Du Plessis punches Israel Adesanya in the UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 305 event at RAC Arena on August 18, 2024, in Perth, Australia. Photo: Jeff Bottari.
Source: UGC

How Du Plessis won against Adesanya.

A Nigerian MMA pundit, Afolabi Ojabowale, shared his thoughts on the bout between DDP and Adesanya in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng.

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"It was a good fight from both parties (Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis); they had their game plan locked down right from the start," he said.
"In the beginning, DDP focused on his wrestling, and Israel was attacking his body. Israel's game plan was the fact that Du Plessis' stamina has always been a suspect in his UFC career, and he wanted to work the body and later on, increase the pressure."

The Nigerian journalist admitted that Du Plessis won the first two rounds, dominating the New Zealanders mainly on the ground.

"The first two rounds were mostly of DDP; He was able to dominate Israel on the ground. In the third round, Israel's game plan started to show, and he was hitting the body properly; he rocked DDP a couple of times and was 2-1 going to the fourth round," he added.

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"The general consensus in the fourth round was for Israel to start going forward more, and instead of going for a body like he was before, and switch it up to start going for the head, like they say 'when the body falls, the head stays wide open'.
"The power of Dricus came into play in the fourth; one huge hook landed and was basically the beginning of the end. By the time the hook landed on Israel, DDP didn't wait to continue the fight on the feet, so he jumped on his back and attacked the choke, something no other fighter has been able to do."

Mzansi reacted as Du Plessis defeated Adesanya

Legit.ng earlier reported on South African fans sharing their thoughts after Du Plessis defeated Adesanya in a thrilling fight at the UFC 305.

The Nigeria-born fighter was tipped as favourites to reclaim the title by bookies, but Dricus proved all doubters wrong to retain the belt.

Source: Briefly.co.za

Authors:
Chukwu Ikechukwu avatar

Chukwu Ikechukwu (Sports Editor) Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a seasoned sports journalist with over a decade of experience across radio, TV, and online media. His career has seen him contribute his expertise to prominent media outlets such as Today FM, Wish FM, Silverbird Communications, and Sports Brief. Chukwu earned his Bachelor's degree in Agriculture from the University of Port Harcourt in 2016. Email: Chukwu.ikechukwu@corp.legit.ng