The UFC middleweight champion, Du Plessis, secured his title with a dramatic fourth-round submission victory over former champion Israel Adesanya.
This win marked his first successful title defense and was achieved despite the fight initially swinging heavily in Adesanya’s favour.
After two relatively balanced rounds, Adesanya gained momentum in the third, landing precise body shots that appeared to shift the odds in his favor.
With the live odds favouring Adesanya, it seemed like du Plessis’ takedowns were consistently thwarted and he was struggling to make an impact.
However, a pivotal strike in the fourth round staggered Adesanya enough for du Plessis to capitalize and bring him back to the ground.
The fight took a dramatic turn when du Plessis, seizing the opportunity, applied a rear naked choke to Adesanya, sealing the win and maintaining his undefeated streak in the UFC amidst a challenging atmosphere in Perth, Australia.
Adesanya, who had been aiming to join Randy Couture as the only fighter to secure three separate reigns with a UFC title, found his bid thwarted in a particularly harsh manner.
Despite his impressive striking and dominance through the earlier rounds, the sudden reversal left him with an uncertain future and fueled speculation about his potential retirement.
However, Adesanya was quick to dismiss these rumors, asserting, “I’m not f***ing leaving.”
Du Plessis’ victory over Adesanya adds to his impressive resume, having now defeated three of the last four middleweight champions—Adesanya, Sean Strickland, and Robert Whittaker.
With such a dominant performance, his next fight could potentially be a rematch with one of these champions or a challenge against the remaining middleweight title contender.
This puts him in an intriguing position, particularly if former middleweight champ and current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira decides to make a serious return to the middleweight division.
