In his post-fight press conference after UFC 306, Dana White once again stressed that finally bringing the Octagon to Africa is a big priority for the promotion. Hosting events in new locations is never an easy process for the MMA leader, but when you have a champion like Dricus Du Plessis, where there is a […]
In his post-fight press conference after UFC 306, Dana White once again stressed that finally bringing the Octagon to Africa is a big priority for the promotion.
Hosting events in new locations is never an easy process for the MMA leader, but when you have a champion like Dricus Du Plessis, where there is a will, there is a way.
The reaction that the middleweight champion received after his title-winning performance at UFC 297 really got the ball rolling.
It’s clear that there would be huge interest in seeing the Octagon touch down in South Africa with Du Plessis headlining the show, but the logistics of making it happen is where issues occur.
The biggest hurdle to get past when looking at stadium shows is the weather, something White has long cited when pushing back on such events. However, it looks like Cape Town Stadium are ready to make some sizable investments to remove this barrier to entry…
Mayor Of Cape Town Reveals Proposal To Build Temporary Roof Over Cape Town Stadium
The Executive Major of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, recently spoke about plans to build a temporary roof in order to bring the UFC to the stadium.
In an interview with Cape Talk, Hill-Lewis said that he expects things to move relatively quickly.
“We’ve said to the national government, the minister (Gayton McKenzie), that we think we could do it absolutely soon, sometime around March next year. But we would need confirmation quite soon so that we could get cracking.” (h/t IOL)
Though there are other venues that could host a major UFC event, they simply don’t have the capacity of the 55,000 seater that was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Hill-Lewis approximated that it would take around two months to build and would cost upwards of R30m (around $1.7 million).
There has been some pushback from other figures, such as the founder of lobby group Stop CoCT Sandra Dickson, who have criticized whether it’s necessary to do this rather than hosting it another venue, calling the plan “a limited short-term and temporary solution.”
Israel Adesanya failed to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship from Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305. He lost the belt to Sean Strickland in a huge upset and for the first time in his pro MMA career, he has two consecutive losses on his record. Like Kamaru Usman at welterweight and Alexander Volkanovski at featherweight, […]
Like Kamaru Usman at welterweight and Alexander Volkanovski at featherweight, Adesanya lost his title after a dominant run in the middleweight division. He beat top contenders like Paulo Costa, Yoel Romero, Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker, and Jared Cannonier without much trouble.
While fans ponder what’s next for him, MMA analyst Luke Thomas shared his two cents on the decline of “The Last Stylebender”…
Luke Thomas Blames Israel Adesanya’s One-Dimensional Style For His Loss To Dricus Du Plessis At UFC 305
Thomas discussed why Adesanya’s dominant reign ended abruptly on his YouTube channel recently. He responded to a fan asking whether Izzy never developed his skills in accordance with other fighters in the middleweight division.
He pointed out two ways for champions to dominate their weight class. They can rely on a well-rounded style like Islam Makhachev who possesses dangerous wrestling alongside accurate boxing and kicks. Or, they can master one facet of their game like Khabib Nurmagomedov who was an unstoppable force due to his wrestling despite never having a commendable standup.
“You can be dominant in the UFC via two different models. One is, you are sort of well-rounded but you’ve got one ace in the hole. And you know, you can play the levels a little bit if you have to, but you kind of lean on your strengths. And that’s a common skill set like Islam is kind of like that, right? Or you can go a little bit more like Khabib where, you know, you can get by on the other stuff as long as you might need to for a couple of minutes. But you’ve got one skill set and it’s way better than everybody else and you just lord that over somebody like the Khabib model. Izzy was kind of always on that second model.”
According to Thomas, Izzy’s dominance at middleweight was similar to Nurmagomedov’s. He had decent takedown defense but outscored all his opponents on the feet. His wins over Whittaker and Alex Pereira exemplify this perfectly.
The combat sports analyst also highlighted that Adesanya never submitted an opponent in the UFC and most of his wins came in a similar fashion. He used this to explain why the former UFC middleweight kingpin couldn’t sustain his dominance like José Aldo, who’s still winning fights after making his promotional debut in 2011.
“He got pretty far but could you argue, had there been a little more development and weaponization of the ground game or a bare minimum like submissions, you know, had he got taken down and have to spend time constantly fighting or if his wrestling had gotten really good, what could that have done like Jose Aldo.”
Although Thomas brought up a couple of notable holes in Adesanya’s game, he called him the second-best middleweight of all time without a doubt. So, even though “The Last Stylebender” has struggled to beat the new generation of middleweights lately, one can’t deny that his striking prowess was enough to make him an all-time great.
The back and forth between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya at the UFC 305 press conference raised plenty of eyebrows. The pair of elite middleweights are set to headline this weekend’s pay-per-view event in Perth, Australia, with the South African’s title being on the line inside the RAC Arena seven months on from his […]
Du Plessis’ “real African” comments early on in his UFC career and subsequent statements regarding being the first African-residing titleholder rubbed Adesanya the wrong way. And when the topic came up at the presser, emotions rose to the surface…
MMA Fans React To UFC 305 Presser: ‘DDP Making This Personal Was A Mistake’
After initially trading light-hearted barbs, a comment Du Plessis directed at Adesanya regarding “servants” increased tensions. “The Last Stylebender” fired back before later breaking down in tears while explaining his emotions.
The moment drew out plenty of reactions across the mixed martial arts community, with many pointing to Sean Strickland’s tears following trash talk from Du Plessis to acknowledge Adesanya as the second consecutive opponent whom the champ has made cry.
Others warned “Stillknocks” that he’s committed a grave mistake by making things so personal for Adesanya, who is returning from an 11-month layoff in pursuit of “taking heads.”
Dricus Du Plessis has lowkey the best trash talk in UFC right now. First he made Sean Strickland cry and now he is doing the same thing to Israel Adesanya. pic.twitter.com/i2bEIx7qRe
Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya may be on the first losing skid of his career, but the latest defeat has left him better off mentally. Adesanya made his return to action just under a year on from his setback last September, returning to Australian soil to challenge for Dricus Du Plessis’ gold in […]
Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya may be on the first losing skid of his career, but the latest defeat has left him better off mentally.
“The Last Stylebender” took a hiatus from the sport after being shockingly thrust off the throne by Sean Strickland at the Sydney-held UFC 293, citing his frequent activity as a factor that hampered his performance.
During his break, Adesanya refined his preparation and placed increased emphasis on areas such as nutrition and strength. And upon his return, the Nigerian-New Zealander played his part in one of the year’s best championship fights, going toe-to-toe with Du Plessis for the best part of four rounds.
While some might have expected such a fact to leave him in a similar place as the period post-UFC 293 last year, “The Last Stylebender” says that is far from the case…
Adesanya Happy To Have ‘Showcased’ More At UFC 305
During an interview uploaded to his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya reflected on his unsuccessful title challenger inside the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, this past weekend.
That is a far cry from how he looked at the surprise setback at the hands of Strickland 11 months ago.
“For me, I’m like, you know what? It’s cool. It was his night. Good for him,” Adesanya said. “This morning, I remember thinking like, ‘What’s next?’ … People think I need to get this one back. Nah, I’m chill. We’ll see what happens. I don’t know what’s next. I haven’t really thought that far (ahead). I just know I want to keep training, I want to keep getting better.
“I’m in a better headspace than I was after the last fight — way better,” Adesanya continued. “I actually enjoyed the performance, and I felt like I got to showcase a lot more of who I am, rather than just fighting injured and not really showcasing who I am. I just want to get back to the gym after this trip.”
It remains to be seen what could come next for Adesanya, who appeared firm in dismissing any retirement talk in the aftermath of the UFC 305 main event.
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till has been getting vocal about the division he was once a part of, and that continued this week with some opinions on the top middleweight fighters. Till hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts since a defeat to then-future champion Dricus Du Plessis in late 2022. The start of […]
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till has been getting vocal about the division he was once a part of, and that continued this week with some opinions on the top middleweight fighters.
Till hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts since a defeat to then-future champion Dricus Du Plessis in late 2022. The start of the subsequent year saw “The Gorilla” granted his release from the UFC, and he’s since had just one boxing outing.
All the while, the Liverpool native has vowed to return to the Octagon down the line and hasn’t shied away from giving his assessments of various fighters and matchups, especially at his most recent fighting weight in the UFC of 185 pounds.
That trend has remained this week, but it wasn’t just the South African taking fire…
Till Berates Some, Praises Others: ‘DDP I Hate Your Guts…Sean I Like’
In a recent X post, Till gave his honest take on a number of notable names in the middleweight division, expressing somewhat positive thoughts on Marvin Vettori, Sean Strickland, and Robert Whittaker.
All three still caught some flak, but it was Du Plessis and Adesanya who took the brunt of it.
Marvin I really like but ur shit DDP I hate ur guts and ur shit Izzy!!!! Ur gay and ur shit Sean I like and ur ok cos u beat me up in the gym once after I boxed ur head off Whittaker I fucking love u but I beat you, you chose the shithouse way and took me down 10 seconds in the…
“Marvin I really like but ur sh*t. DDP I hate ur guts and ur sh*t. Izzy!!!! Ur gay and ur sh*t. Sean I like and ur ok cos u beat me up in the gym once I boxed ur head off. Whittaker I f**king love u but I beat you, you chose the sh*thouse way and took me down 10 seconds in the last round… ur sh*t.”
Till also didn’t miss an opportunity to quip at himself.
“Have I missed anyone out? Oh sh*t yeh… myself, I’m f**king so shit I really am.”
And newly crowned UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad also briefly entered the Scouser’s crosshairs.
“Also Belal Muhammad isn’t a real fighter strip him of his title he cheated against Leon!!!!!”
Robert Whittaker recently drew a parallel to the identical situation from his own fight against Dricus Du Plessis, which he observed during the main event of UFC 305. “Stillknocks” successfully defended his UFC middleweight title last weekend, securing victory with a fourth-round rear-naked choke to submit Adesanya at the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. […]
Robert Whittaker recently drew a parallel to the identical situation from his own fight against Dricus Du Plessis, which he observed during the main event of UFC 305.
The fight erupted at a blistering pace, with both fighters driving the action from the opening bell. The first round was a closely contested striking exchange, but in the second, Du Plessis relied on his superior grappling, securing multiple takedowns despite Adesanya’s resilience. As the third round unfolded, “The Last Stylebender” appeared to be in trouble but soon found his rhythm, landing powerful shots to the head and body.
Early in the fourth, the challenger seemed poised for a knockout, but Du Plessis turned the tide with punishing combinations, culminating in a perfectly timed takedown. He swiftly took Adesanya’s back and secured the submission victory moments later.
The South African’s unconventional fighting style, combined with the power in his hands, seems to be an enigma that his opponents can’t unravel. No one is better suited to attest to this than Whittaker, with his firsthand experience facing Du Plessis in the Octagon…
Whittaker Analyzes How Du Plessis Lulls Opponents Before Capitalizing
During a recent appearance on the MMArcade Podcast, ‘The Reaper’ dissected Du Plessis’ triumphant performance against Adesanya at UFC 305. Whittaker highlighted the uncanny similarity between his own second-round knockout loss to Du Plessis at UFC 290 in July 2023 and the manner in which Adesanya succumbed to the South African’s relentless power.
The former UFC middleweight champion observed that “Stillknocks” possesses a deceptive ability to coax his opponents into a false sense of security, making them believe he’s slow and predictable. But just when they start to feel comfortable, he surges forward with an unorthodox stance, unleashing powerful strikes that catch them off guard.
“There’s a method to his madness like I’m making light of it and making it funny, but the dude is a weapon. He’s a true warrior,” Whittaker said. “I can say that firsthand because he beat me right with the same cumbersome throwing punches. It’s funny—I saw the same moment Adesanya had in his fight that I had in my fight, and it was somewhere in the first round where you think you see the punches, you move out of the way of the punches, and you realize like he’s slow, I can see them, like I got this, it’s almost like you’re thinking, ‘This is too easy, I can see everything.’”
“And then, all of a sudden, he hits you. Then he starts climbing on you when he starts closing that gap a little bit more, like he starts, what, risking it a little bit more, like lunging into his shots, and he closes that inch that you thought you were safe by a little bit. Then there’s the factor of his power.”
“The Reaper” also highlighted that what truly makes Du Plessis a formidable force is his versatile style and the power that complements it perfectly.
“In that last exchange before the submission, Adesanya took some heavy shots. Adesanya’s got a great chin—he does, bastard. Dricus saw that too, pushed it, got the takedown, and then jumped on the back straight away—good instincts. He said he trained for that transition, and it looks good, but that’s just a testament to his power because his power is what got him the chance, the opportunity. There’s so much to dissect and so many ‘what ifs,’ like you’d have to ask him, but, like, man, to sum it all up, I think Adesanya looked outstanding. Dricus is just a warrior, and I understand what you need to do to beat him.”
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