The former champion Israel Adesanya is looking to recapture his middleweight throne with a stunning knockout at UFC 305. Standing in his way is the dangerous grappler Dricus du Plessis, of South Africa.
Israel Adesanya UFC 305 Knockout Prep
‘The Last Stylebender’ had a great career in kickboxing before transitioning to MMA. Once the Nigerian-Kiwi athlete entered the UFC, he went on an impressive unbeaten streak and was able to capture the middleweight crown. After two fights against Alex Pereira, Adesanya would lose his title to Sean Strickland who would then lose it to Dricus du Plessis. Now, Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 will look to reclaim his throne with a knockout against the South African champion.
In a recent interview, Israel Adesanya outlined what his game plan will look like against the strong grappling game of Dricus du Plessis. ‘The Last Stylebender’ explained:
“Dricus Du Plessis is a guy who fights the way he fights, but he gets a lot of success, but it leaves him very vulnerable. When you fight a guy who is very precise and lethal like me, come on… The highlights will always be there. The way I fight will always produce highlights, and those are nice bonuses, but I don’t look for them, they just show up.
“I think he’s going to shoot straight away. I doubt he’ll want to strike with me for too long. This is something that people always say, but I’ve shown before that I can wrestle too. It might not be how everyone else wrestles, but I can wrestle too, that’s why I ended up becoming world champion.”
Israel Adesanya UFC 305 Grappling Prep
Adesanya prepared for the grappling game of his opponent by preparing with Jiu-Jitsu ace Demian Maia and all-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor Craig Jones. Unfortunately, Jones will not be cornering the Nigerian-Kiwi athlete as he is hosting his own invitation event in Las Vegas. Adesanya explained:
“I love everything, but it depends on the specifics. Sometimes when we’re grappling I learn something and I’m like, oh yes I want to get in on this! With the striking, it’s super repetitive, but you have to do it and you do it like you love it because you can never train the fundamentals too much. I’m always excited to learn and get in the cage and get it on.
“Craig is my guy and even before this thing happened he told me that he got the investment and was going to run it the same week as ADCC. If I wasn’t fighting I would definitely be there. I love to see a guy who keeps it real and is being himself, get the credit. Me and him get along and understand each other.”
Israel Adesanya UFC 305 World Title Plans
Some fights are bigger than the gold they come with. For ‘The Last Stylebender,’ this matchup against du Plessis is for more than just the UFC middleweight crown. During the UFC Countdown, he added
“Beating Dricus is more important to me than getting the belt back. This fight is about history.”
