UFC interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall says he is eagerly anticipating the middleweight title clash between Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis. The contrasting fighting styles of the two African stars have generated immense excitement for the upcoming bout.
Adesanya and du Plessis will square off at UFC 305 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on August 18th in a highly anticipated match-up dubbed the “Fight of Africa.” A victory for du Plessis would mark his first successful title defense, while Adesanya aims to reclaim the middleweight championship for a third time.
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Tensions between the two fighters have been simmering since their confrontation following du Plessis’ win over Robert Whittaker last year. Aspinall believes the bad blood, combined with their different fighting styles, will make for an explosive encounter.
“What is so interesting about this fight is that Izzy loves the space and being able to twitch and fade while DDP hates the space, he’s rushing in and putting it on you, this is such an interesting stylistic matchup,” the British heavyweight fighter said on UFC on TNT Sports.
“This fight is like that of a bull and a matador. We’ve got the bull in DDP, he’s coming forward, and you know what you’re gonna get with him, he’s closing the space and trying to kill you, Izzy on the other hand is staying away doing his fades, it’s just so much of a contrast of styles. As a massive fan of the MMA myself, I can’t just wait to see it.”
Adesanya is widely regarded as one of the greatest middleweights of all time, while Du Plessis is rapidly ascending the ranks and aiming to solidify his legacy as the division’s dominant force.
To become UFC middleweight champion, Du Plessis has left top fighters such as Sean Strickland, Derek Brunson, Robert Whittaker, Darren Till, and Brad Tavares in his wake.
