Last September, Israel Adesanya surrendered the UFC middleweight title with a decision loss to Sean Strickland. It was one of the biggest upsets of 2023.
This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 305, Adesanya will look to reclaim the title, when he takes on new champion Dricus Du Plessis.
Ahead of the card, South Africa’s Du Plessis gave his take on why Adesanya lost to Strickland last year. Having won the belt with a decision win over Strickland earlier this year, the champion is better positioned than most to comment on last year’s shocking upset.
“I think it was an off night,” Du Plessis said at the UFC 305 pre-fight media day this week (via MMA Junkie). “It was very evident in terms of how he fought – just the whole fight, you could see it.
“Then I fought Strickland and my whole perception around that fight changed because I know first-hand experience what it’s like to fight Sean Strickland,” he continued. “He’s hard to hit. With Izzy, he doesn’t throw volume. He’s pinpoint accurate with his strikes – or at least he tries to be. He’s more of a move-move-move-hit. And when he fought Strickland, he missed all those shots.
“Strickland is really, really good defensively. When I fought Strickland, I immediately realized that’s what happened. I threw volume so I could catch him and I could beat him. But Israel doesn’t throw the volume, so every time he threw, he missed the shots. He had two, three maximum, and he would miss. Originally, I thought Israel had an off night, and then after fighting Strickland and going to watch that fight again, I actually think it was just Strickland that did what he does extremely well, and that style didn’t suit Israel at all.”
The fight with Adesanya will mark Du Plessis’ first attempt at a title defense. The winner of the UFC 305 fight is expected to take on Strickland next, according to company CEO Dana White.
