Israel Adesanya announces his UFC return against Dricus Duplessis

Stylebender hopes to win the championship back

It’s official. The main event of UFC 305 will feature Israel Adesanya attempting to reclaim his middleweight championship against Dricus Du Plessis. For the first time in a long time, the headlining announcement came directly from Adesanya, rather than the UFC. To publicize the battle, “The Last Stylebender” posted his own poster on Instagram. The bout will take place on August 17 in Perth, Australia.

“The SUN of Africa is the same sun that lights up our planet,” he wrote. “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.”

“Never stole shine, never lost mine,” the poster reads.

☀️🌍🌘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

Israel Adesanya last fought Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya hasn’t fought since a decision loss against Sean Strickland in September 2023, when he lost his belt for the second time in twelve months. He has subsequently refined his whole training and diet approach, declaring that he is “coming for heads” as he cements his legacy.

Prior to this announcement, Du Plessis vs. Adesanya at UFC 305 was one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry. Dricus and Izzy have teased the date and match-up in several interviews over the last month, with Du Plessis asking why the UFC hadn’t confirmed the fight yet.

The cat really came out of the bag during a recent social media post from UFC CEO Dana White where he announced Conor McGregor’s exit from UFC 303. Fans noticed the matchmaking board for UFC 305 was partially visible in the corner of the video, revealing Israel Adesanya in the main event. Since the UFC rarely runs pay-per-views without a belt on the line, Du Plessis was the obvious opponent.

Dana White by mistake leaked UFC 305 match card

Over the last 24 hours, the entire MMA community has transformed into a sea of online sleuths, dissecting every pixel of Dana White’s new video detailing the circumstances surrounding UFC 303.

The film was taken in the notorious ‘War Room’, the office area at UFC headquarters where pairings are made, with one camera viewpoint giving fans a glance at some of the competitors on the right side of the fight card.

Dana White might have accidentally leaked the potential #UFC305 Perth Card while announcing #UFC303 Update.Israel Adesanya in the main event. Song Yadong co main.#UFC #MMA #MMATwitter pic.twitter.com/jyb26m1P6G

— XETINFO MMA (@xetinfomma) June 16, 2024

According to the purported leak, the five fighters that makeup half of the main card are former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, top bantamweight contender Song Yadong, Australians Jack Della Maddalena and Steve Erceg, and veteran Drakkar Close.

For starters, if Israel Adesanya does return to fight at UFC 305 in Perth, his opponent will almost certainly be middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.

Not only has Israel Adesanya hinted that he is about to begin his next training camp, but South African King Dricus du Plessis just indicated that he has consented to the fight and is annoyed by the absence of an official announcement.

Second, the inclusion of Song Yadong in the co-main event may not make sense to many fans, given that the young challenger is presently ranked seventh in the bantamweight class.

The key here, however, may be his opponent, with the UFC’s latest big-money acquisition, Kai Asakura, undoubtedly deserving of a PPV co-main event spot.

Next up is Jack Della Maddalena, and here is where the ‘leak’ becomes a bit shaky, as the fan-favorite Australian only recently stated that he will be gone for several months due to a medical issue.

JDM had been aiming a bout against Shavkat Rakhmonov before revealing that he had suffered a terrible post-surgery infection in his arm in May. But since the whole match card isn’t released what do you think Dana White can go with? Share with us in the comments.

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