Dricus Du Plessis, the reigning UFC middleweight champion, is confident he can defeat former champ Israel Adesanya and etch his name among the division’s greats.
Their clash is set for UFC 305 in Australia on August 18th.
Du Plessis aims for his first title defense, while Adesanya seeks to regain the belt he lost to Sean Strickland (USA) in September 2023. That defeat put the Lagos-born fighter on a break.
On his championship run, the South African bested notable opponents like Brad Tavares, Darren Till, Derek Brunson, Robert Whittaker, and finally, Sean Strickland.
Du Plessis seeks to solidify his legacy as a top middleweight champion. He believes a win over the legendary Adesanya would solidify his own place in the division’s hall of fame.
“I’ve always looked at Israel Adesanya as the benchmark,” Du Plessis said. “I’ve looked at him and always knew, ‘This is where I need to be if I want to be the best in the world.’ He’s one of the greatest to ever do it.
“This fight, for me, is going to put me in that position. This is where I take over as one of the greatest ever to do it,” he continued. “This is where my years of building and climbing that ladder is coming to the point where I am now the guy that’s one of the greatest to ever do it.
“Izzy has done such incredible things in the sport. For me, this fight is just like beating Robert Whittaker. It’s a fight that people are gonna think you’re gonna win. It’s a hard fight. I’m fighting against arguably one of the best middleweights ever.
“This fight’s gonna mean that ‘I told you I belong here.’ Dricus du Plessis is now in the conversation of being one of the greatest middleweights ever.”
