Israel Adesanya next fight as Dricus Du Plessis world title shot beckons at UFC 305
Associated PressIsrael Adesanya is determined to become a three-time UFC world middleweight champion and he could get the chance to do it in his very next fight.
The New Zealand-based fighter has not fought since losing his UFC world middleweight title to Sean Strickland in September 2023 but he has plenty of options at his disposal for his next fight.
Adesanya is one of the modern day greats of MMA, and he still harbors ambitions of regaining his world title at middleweight, as well as winning light-heavyweight gold, too.
As such, Dexerto Sport has taken a look at the different options at Adesanya’s disposal, as he plots his next fight in the UFC.
Dricus Du Plessis title shot at UFC 305
Strickland failed to back up his shock win over Adesanya and dropped his title with defeat to South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis in February 2024.
Du Plessis is now keen to fight Adesanya, who was born in Nigeria, in all African title fight and he has hinted that fight, which has been touted as a potential headliner for UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, in August, will be next.
Talking about his plans at middleweight and light-heavyweight, Du Plessis said on “The Sias du Plessis Show”: “I believe beating Adesanya – if Khamzat beats Whittaker, beating Khamzat, that earns you a spot at light heavyweight.
“Because then if you look at the greats, the boogeyman everybody seems to be scared of in Khamzat, I would love that fight. Fighting Izzy (Adesanya), beating Izzy, one of the best middleweights to ever do it, and beating Robert Whittaker, one of the other best middleweights, that earns you that spot.
“But like I said, I have no problems defending my belt a few times before that. For now, my focus is 100 percent on that middleweight division and my next fight, which in all likelihood will be Israel Adesanya, and that’s where all my focus is.
“Obviously that’s in the trajectory for me, but none of the other plans can come together without this.”
It would be a fight Adesanya would welcome, too. as he previously revealed he had accepted the fight with Du Plessis for UFC 300, but it was too short of a turnaround for the South African.
“There’s some things that were meant to happen,” Adesanya said on Theo Von’s podcast. “They summoned me, I’m sure this is out there now … but they summoned me for [UFC] 300 and I was like ‘yep, let’s roll.’ But their side didn’t want it.”
Middleweight alternatives
Should a fight with Du Plessis not materialize, or even looking beyond a fight with Du Plessis and into the future, there are some exciting alternative fights at middleweight for Adesanya, too.
Former middleweight champion Strickland takes on Paulo Costa at UFC 302 on June 1 and the winner will be high in line for a shot at the title. Adesanya lost to Strickland last time out so will be keen to avenge that loss in the future.
Similarly, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, who Adesanya defeated to win the world title for the first time, takes on the fearsome Khamzat Chimaev on Saturday, July 22, and the winner of that fight will also be keen on a shot at the title.
Whittaker would be keen to avenge the two defeats he has on his record to Adesanya, while Chimaev is quickly becoming known as the ‘boogeyman’ of the middleweight division and there would be much intrigue to see how he would fare against the top fighters in his weight class.
Unfinished business vs Alex Pereira at light-heavyweight
Adesanya’s rivalry with UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is one of the most iconic rivalries in the history of MMA.
Prior to joining the UFC, Pereira twice beat Adesanya in kickboxing. The first fight was a controversial decision victory for the Brazilian but there was no doubt over the winner of the second bout, as “Poatan” knocked Adesanya out with a vicious punch.
When Pereira moved to the UFC, he dethroned Adesanya as the middleweight champion in their third bout, too, stopping him in the fifth round of their title fight at UFC 281 with Adesanya up on the scorecards.
“The Last Stylebender” finally got his revenge in the fourth bout between the pair, regaining his middleweight title by knocking Pereira out cold at UFC 287.
Pereira has since moved up to light-heavyweight and become a two-weight world champion. Adesanya tried, and failed to do that himself, in 2021, losing to the then-champion Jan Blachowicz via unanimous decision.
Should Adesanya fancy another crack at two-weight gold, the narrative writes itself for a fifth fight with Pereira.