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UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis defends middleweight title with wild 4th-round submission of Israel Adesanya

jack baer
Staff writer

He looked gassed, he looked hurt, but Dricus du Plessis just looks like a champion now.

The UFC middleweight champion solidified his belt with a fourth-round submission win over former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Saturday, reversing a fight that was very much not going his way to notch his first title defense.

After a somewhat even first two rounds, Adesanya grabbed momentum with surgical body shots in the third and was the strong favorite on the live odds. The larger du Plessis was having his takedowns stuffed and clearly having a good time, until a shot in the fourth wobbled Adesanya enough for the South African to put him back on the ground.

"I just made a stupid, dumb mistake on the ground," Adesanya said after the fight.

Finally, du Plessis got his arm in the right place and submitted Adesanya with a rear naked choke, continuing his undefeated run in the UFC despite a hostile crowd in Perth, Australia.

It was a brutal way to lose for Adesanya, who was fighting to become the second fighter to notch three separate reigns with a UFC belt, after Randy Couture. His striking was looking like his classic vintage and he was winning enough exchanges that the most likely outcomes were a decision win or the body shots adding up to a finish.

Instead, he is now left without much of a path to another title shot. There was some acknowledgement of retirement speculation in the Octagon after the fight, but Adesanya put a stop to that with "I'm not f***ing leaving."

As for Du Plessis, he's now beaten three of the past four middleweight champs in a row with Adesanya, Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker. A rematch with one of them could be the next step, or he could face the fourth remaining champ.

Assuming current light heavyweight (and former middleweight) champ Alex Pereira is serious here.

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Here's how everything went down live at UFC 305, via Yahoo Sports:

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER110 updates

  • Adesanya: "I'm not f***ing leaving!"

    Despite taking off his gloves indicating a retirement, Adesanya tells Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview that he isn't going anywhere.

  • RESULT: Dricus du Plessis def. Israel Adesanya by submission (rear naked) at 3:38 of R4

  • DDP taps out Adesanya!

  • Izzy now a -225 favorite

  • Round 3 ends

  • Round 2 ends

    DDP gets a few takedowns on the former champ. The champ is trying hard to establish his wrestling and stay off the feet.

  • Round 1 ends

    The champ establishes his kicking game early on, but Izzy is staying busier and landing more shots. DDP's rushing attack got Izzy to feel his powerf

  • Ben Fowlkes

    Next up: Dricus du Plessis (-105) vs. Israel Adesanya (-115)

    Who they are: Du Plessis is the newly minted UFC middleweight champ, but to many people he doesn’t yet seem like he’s truly the world’s best middleweight. Adesanya was the last champ in the division to demonstrate any prolonged dominance, and he’s one of the few enduring stars the UFC has between lightweight and heavyweight.

    Why it matters: If the gold around du Plessis’ waist isn’t enough, there’s also the battle for public perception. Du Plessis needs this win to prove he’s not some temporary champ who was able to take advantage of a brief chaotic clip in the division. Adesanya needs it in order to prove that his title loss to Sean Strickland was a fluke and he’s still the best 185-pounder around. If he can get the belt back a third time, Adesanya is truly one of the greats. If du Plessis can beat him, people will have to start taking him seriously as champ.

  • RESULT: Kai Kara-France def. Steve Erceg by TKO (punches) at 4:04 of R1

  • Kara-France knocks out Erceg!!

    It was a huge left hook that landed flush and put Erceg down. He bounced back up but couldn't get his footing and Kai finished him off. What a finish!

  • Ben Fowlkes

    Next up: Kai Kara-France (+210) vs. Steve Erceg (-275) at flyweight

    Who they are: Kara-France was looking like a potential flyweight champ until he lost his crack at the interim title and then fell further with a split-decision loss last summer. Erceg is the newest Australian fighter who people are ready to get excited about. He was rushed into a title fight for the sake of timing and convenience, but still did far better than expected and his stock didn’t fall far as a result.

    Why it matters: Neither of these guys is far from getting back into a fight with a belt on the line. Throwing them into this co-main event bout feels like a test to see which of them has a better chance to get himself into that fight — and which might be on a downward trending line for the time being.

  • Yahoo Sports Staff
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  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    RESULT: Dan Hooker def. Mateusz Gamrot by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

  • Yahoo Sports Staff
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    Round 3 ends

    Back to the judges' scorecards we go after Hooker and Gamrot engaged in a brutal war. What a fight!

  • Yahoo Sports Staff
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    Round 2 ends

    Another back-and-forth round sees Gamrot hurt several times as Hooker takes control of the fight.

  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    Hooker's big left shakes Gamrot to the core

  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    Round 1 ends

    The lightweight bring the fireworks with an explosive 5 minutes! Gamrot looked really good early and opened up a cut on Hooker. Then, Hooker caught Gamrot with a huge left that had him hurt and close to a finish before the bell.

  • Yahoo Sports Staff
  • Yahoo Sports Staff
  • Ben Fowlkes

    Next up: Mateusz Gamrot (-450) vs. Dan Hooker (+333) at lightweight

    Who they are: Gamrot was a two-division champ with KSW in his home country of Poland. He’s been very solid so far in the UFC but is having trouble cresting the hill into title contender territory. Hooker is from the same New Zealand crew as Adesanya and has already lived several lives in the UFC. Here he tries for his first three-fight winning streak since 2020.

    Why it matters: Gamrot is ranked fifth in the UFC’s lightweight division and is on the verge of cracking that top tier. What he needs are a couple more wins over known opponents. He also needs to look good doing it, and not like he’s just barely getting by. Hooker, on the other hand, is trying to show that his occasional stumbles are behind him and he is capable of beating well-rounded fighters who are still in their primes. Doing it in front of a friendly home crowd would be a bonus.

  • Yahoo Sports Staff
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    RESULT: Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Tai Tuivasa by unanimous decision (29-28, 27-30, 30-27)

  • Yahoo Sports Staff

    Round 3 ends

    The fireworks were duds and the heavyweights go the distance — just like everyone predicted. Rozenstruik should take this one by decision.

  • Yahoo Sports Staff
  • Yahoo Sports Staff