Israel Adesanya has announced that he will face Drisus du Plessis of South Africa for the UFC middleweight title.
The Stylebender confirmed the upcoming bout in a post on his X account on Monday.
The fight is billed to take place at UFC 305 on August 17 in Australia.
Du Plessis is the current middleweight champion after defeating Sean Strickland in January.
Advertisement
He became the first South African to become a champion in the promotion.
☀️🌍🌘
The SUN of Africa is the same sun that lights up our planet.
The SUN will set and will rise again until you walk into it. 🌅
The SUN, enjoy while it shines. Darkness falls when it’s gone. pic.twitter.com/u5Swlzr6TW— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) June 17, 2024
Advertisement
Adesanya lost the belt to Strickland in September 2023 at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.
The Nigerian-born fighter lost via unanimous decision, which was the third defeat of his 27-fight UFC career.
Adesanya and du Plessis’ rivalry started in 2023 when the latter claimed he wanted to be “the first real African champion” in the UFC.
Advertisement
The comment offended Adesanya, who found it disrespectful to other UFC African champions like himself, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou.
However, Du Plessis clarified that he aimed to become the first UFC champion to be born in Africa and live and train there.
None of Adesanya, Usman, and Ngannou lived or trained on the continent when they were UFC champions.
Advertisement
Add a comment
