This UFC 305 Countdown is all Izzy vs. Dricus, which tells you just how massive this fight taking place in Perth, Australia is.
After a less-than-thrilling weekend of MMA action, things are stepping back up next Saturday with UFC 305 on August 17th.
The card, set to go down in Perth, Australia, is headlined by a grudge match between middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and two-time former champ Israel Adesanya. And in a somewhat unusual move, the UFC has decided to dedicate the entire hour of it’s Countdown show to that main event rather than share the spotlight with anyone else.
If you’ve got friends you plan on exposing to UFC for the first time this coming weekend, show them this UFC 305 Countdown show. It goes in-depth on both Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis, detailing their rise from the world of kickboxing to MMA stardom. There’s lots of highlights and knockouts and, of course, drama when Izzy and Dricus start circling each other.
Israel Adesanya hopes a certain fighter “keeps winning” so the champion can “whoop his ass.”
“I will gladly drag his carcass across South Africa.” pic.twitter.com/ZA6R2OAu0z
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) April 9, 2023
That all stems from Du Plessis’ decision to style himself the first ‘real’ African champion.
“Dricus first came on my radar when he disrespected the Three Kings,” Adesanya told the Countdown crew. “He doesn’t respect African kings, African champions, because he sees himself different from us.”
“How the f— are you going to question our African-ness, like who the f— are you?” Izzy added. “He could have been like, ‘Lately there’s been a great reign of African champions, and that’s awesome. I look forward to taking my place as an African champion as well.’”
“I said I was the first fighter out of Africa who’s gonna bring the belt back home,” Du Plessis replied. “To where I live … This whole story was never about him, for me. It was about my own goal. My accomplishments. It was never to discredit his. If he got triggered, I don’t care. I don’t care if he’s angry about it. We’ll settle it.”
They will indeed settle it on August 17th at UFC 305.
Also on the card: a flyweight scrap between New Zealand’s Kai Kara-France and Australia’s Steve Erceg. Dan Hooker returns against Mateusz Gamrot. And it’s big boy Tai Tuivasa vs. “Bigi Boy” Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a heavyweight slobberknocker. Keep it tuned to MMA Mania for all the news and results from Down Under.