- Takes on middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis
- Coming off a loss to Sean Strickland in Sydney at UFC 293
- They were scheduled to meet at UFC 293, but du Plessis was injured
Perth’s UFC 305 main event has been confirmed, with Israel Adesanya set to challenge middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.
UFC president Dana White announced the fight on The Jim Rome Show after Adesanya referenced it in a cryptic social media post.
“The sun of Africa is the same sun that illuminates our planet,” Adesanya wrote.
‘The sun sets and rises again until you walk into it. The sun, enjoy it while it shines. Darkness falls when it is gone.’
The announcement comes just months after Adesanya called Australian MMA fans “racist” for supporting American Sean Strickland in their title fight at UFC 293.
At the September 10 event in Sydney, Adesanya lost to Strickland in one of the most shocking results in UFC history.
Israel Adesanya was unhappy with Australian fans cheering on his opposition in Sydney at UFC 293, labeling them racist
‘The Last Stylebender’ announced his return to Australia with this social media post
Strickland had much of the crowd on his side and even won over Aussie fans during the build-up by wearing a Crocodile Dundee-style hat and a T-shirt with ‘For the people, by the people’ printed on it.
Adesanya, 34 years old and a former two-time middleweight champion, wasn’t surprised by the support for Strickland.
“No, they’re racist,” Adesanya said.
“I think it was me, her, it wasn’t my week. It was just him. He knows how to give in. He’s a great politician, I’ll put it this way. It was just his week, his moment to shine, and what a gentleman.”
Strickland earned an embarrassing win over Adesanya after rallying the home fans to his side
The fight between Adesanya and du Plessis has been in the making for over a year.
Both fighters shared a heated moment in the cage following Du Plessis’ victory over Robert Whittaker last July.
They were initially scheduled to fight at UFC 293 in Sydney, but du Plessis was forced out with an injury.
Adesanya fought and lost instead to Sean Strickland, who then relinquished the title in his first defense against du Plessis at UFC 297 in Toronto in January.
It was supposed to be du Plessis who fought Adesanya in Sydney, but he was injured at the time
Adesanya, who lives in nearby Auckland, New Zealand, has not fought since his defeat to Strickland but remains a top fighter and a major star in the UFC.
Du Plessis is on an impressive run in the UFC, having defeated Darren Till, Derek Brunson, Whittaker and Strickland. Their rivalry threatened to turn ugly as both men claimed they were the ‘real African champion’.
The winner of the middleweight title fight could face Whittaker later this year, assuming the Australian star can defeat Ikram Aliskerov.
UFC 305 is also expected to feature Steve Erceg against Kai-Kara France, while the availability of rising Australian star Jack Della Maddalena remains unclear.