UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis looks to defend his title for the first time on Saturday at UFC 305 in a heated match with former champion Israel Adesanya.
The racist undertones of the fight bordered on the uncomfortable at times. Du Plessis, who rose through the division on his way up, boldly claimed he was the “real” African fighter in the UFC because he lived on the continent in his native South Africa. That didn’t sit well with Adesanya, a Nigerian native living in New Zealand, especially considering Kamaru Usman (a Nigerian in the U.S.) and Francis Ngannou (originally from Cameroon but living in France when he became UFC heavyweight champion).
Adesanya sparked a heated verbal exchange after Du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 when he still held gold, dropping N-bombs and calling Du Plessis his “African brother.” The UFC may have been secretly pleased when Sean Strickland dethroned “The Last Stylebender” months later at short notice when Du Plessis was unable to fight.
At least it bought them some time to cool off from what had become a potentially ugly rivalry. And now, just over a year later, Du Plessis holds the gold and Adesanya is trying to reclaim his place at the top of the middleweight division.
Things may have calmed down a little, but Du Plessis still egged Adesanya on at the pre-fight press conference this week, accusing him of having had “servants” as a child (Adesanya had previously admitted to having a comfortable upbringing that included a maid), which brought the former champion to tears.
Will the two top middleweights keep their emotions in check when they fight on Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia? That’s just one of the questions heading into UFC 305. We’ve now given our predictions for the main card – here’s how we see the outcome.
It looks like we’re expecting the title to change hands on Saturday at UFC 305, with only one writer tipping Dricus Du Plessis to defend his title.
Carlos Praces and Steve Erceg, meanwhile, were unanimously selected for their respective fights, only two fighters chose Jair Rozenstruik to defeat Australian Tai “Bam Bam” Tuivasa and only one decided Dan Hooker against Mateusz Gamrot.
