The UFC 305 pay-per-view fight card is fast approaching. The event takes place on Saturday, August 17, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. In the main event of the PPV card, UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis puts his title on the line against two-time champ Israel Adesanya.
Du Plessis captured the UFC middleweight crown in January with a split-decision win at UFC 292. Adesanya, who is the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC middleweight rankings, has not stepped into the Octagon since he dropped the title to Strickland in a one-sided unanimous decision loss in September at UFC 293.
The UFC 305 main card airs streams on ESPN+ PPV at 10:00 p.m. ET on August 17. The prelims begin at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, while the early prelims stream on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Below, we take a deep dive into the UFC 305 main event: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya.
Careers
Dricus du Plessis
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Dricus du Plessis (21-2) joined the UFC in October 2020 as a 26-year-old with a 14-2 record. Before he joined the UFC, Du Plessis had won titles with KSW and EFC. He made his debut against Markus Perez on the main card of a UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi. Du Plessis knocked out Perez in the first round. He followed that win with a July 2021 “Performance of the Night” KO win of Trevin Giles.
Those two wins earned him a shot against the ranked veteran Brad Tavares. Du Plessis won that scrap via decision. The victory put him in the top 15 of the division. A December 2022 submission win over Darren Till moved Du Plessis to No. 10 in the division. A TKO win over the No. 5 ranked Derek Brunson followed.
Du Plessis, who was working his way up the rankings, faced a tough test in his next outing when he met the No. 2 ranked Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. Du Plessis continued his rise, knocking out the former UFC champion in the UFC middleweight title eliminator and earning another “Performance of the Night” bonus.
More important than the bonus was the title shot Du Plessis received for that win. He faced then-champion Sean Strickland in January, taking the title from Strickland in a “Fight of the Night” bonus-winning scrap.
UFC 305 marks Du Plessis’ first attempted defense of his UFC crown.
Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya (24-3) was a perfect 11-0 when he joined the UFC in 2018. The then 28-year-old had held titles with Hex Fight Series and AFC before joining the UFC. He had also fought twice for the Glory Kickboxing Middleweight crown before focusing on MMA.
Adesanya’s first fight was a “Performance of the Night” bonus-winning knockout of Rob Wilkinson in a bloody battle. After the win, Adesanya delivered a memorable post-fight interview with UFC commentator Jon Anik.
Decision wins over Marvin Vettori and Brad Tavares put Adesanya in the top 10 in the division. A first-round TKO over Derek Brunson then launched him to No. 6. A decision over a fading former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva followed.
That fight against Silva, which took place at UFC 234 in February 2019, was the last time Adesanya would compete in a non-title fight with the UFC.
In his next outing, Adesanya captured the interim UFC middleweight crown with a gut-check decision win over Kelvin Gastelum. Adesanya unified the titles in October 2019 with a knockout win over Robert Whittaker.
Title defense wins over Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa followed. Adesanya, looking to become a double UFC champ, moved to light heavyweight for his next fight against then UFC 205-pound titleholder Jan Blachowicz. Blachowicz handed Adesanya his first defeat, beating him by decision at UFC 259.
The middleweight champ bounced back from that setback with title defenses against Vettori, Whittaker. and Jared Cannonier.
A grudge match was next on Adesanya’s schedule as he faced the man who had defeated him twice under the Glory Banner, Alex Pereira, at UFC 281. Adesanya entered the fifth and final round of that contest ahead on the scorecards, only to get knocked out at 2:01 of that round.
Adesanya got revenge in April 2023 at UFC 287 when he knocked out Pereira in the second round.
In his next outing, at UFC 293, Adesanya dropped the belt to Strickland.
During his UFC run, Adesanya has won eight fight-night bonuses and competed in 11 tile fights, 12 if you count UFC 305. His 12-fight UFC middleweight winning streak is one shy of Silva’s UFC record 13-fight 185-pound winning streak.
UFC 305 Betting Odds: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya
The betting line on the UFC 305 main event has gotten much tighter as fight night nears. Adesanya was a -186 favorite over Du Plessis at +144 when betting opened on this contest. The fight is essentially a pick ‘em at this time, with Adesanya at -122 and Du Plessis at -110.
Significant Stats
Du Plessis lands 6.49 significant strikes per minute, with an accuracy of 50 percent. His striking defense is 55 percent, and he gets hit 4.77 times per minute. The champ averages 3.00 takedowns per 15 minutes with an accuracy of 51 percent. His takedown defense is 40 percent.
Adesanya lands 3.93 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy of 48 percent. His striking defense is 56 percent, and he absorbs 3.11 strikes per minute. The ex-champ lands 0.05 takedowns per 15 minutes with an accuracy of 14 percent, and his takedown defense is 77 percent.
UFC 305 Main Event Prediction and Pick: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya
This pick is a tough one, but the champ has advantages in pressure, tenacity and output. If Du Plessis can make Adesanya follow his awkward lead throughout the bout, he should retain his title. The betting pick is Du Plessis to beat Adesanya by decision.
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