Former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will be looking to make history when he faces the reigning champion, Dricus du Plessis, in the main event of UFC 305. The five-round championship fight will occur on Saturday, August 17, at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
With a win, Adesanya (24-3-0, 16 KOs) can join Randy Couture as the only UFC fighter who has won titles three times in the same division.
Adesanya returns to the octagon for the first time since losing the middleweight belt to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September. The Nigerian has lost two of his previous three fights and desperately needs a win to cement his legacy as one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history.
Du Plessis (21-2-0, 9 KOs) has won nine straight fights and will make his first title defense since striking gold at UFC 297. 'Stillknocks' claimed a split decision win over Strickland to capture the middleweight title in shocking fashion.
Caesars has Adesanya (-140) as a slight favorite to dethrone middleweight champ du Plessis (+175). This much-anticipated clash showcases two of the division's top fighters, and both have the potential to walk out of the Octagon with the title belt. For those looking to place a bet, the top UFC sportsbooks, including Caesars, provide competitive odds on this exciting matchup.
Adesanya is an elite kickboxer who uses distance management, impeccable timing, and flashy kicks to control the pace of his fights. The 35-year-old has won 70% of his career matchups via knockout and boasts an average fight time of 18 minutes and 16 seconds.
The 'Stylebender' is an aggressive fighter and lands 3.93 significant strikes per minute, which pales in comparison to the 6.49 significant strikes that du Plessis connects on. Adesanya successfully thwarts 56% of opposing strikes while absorbing 3.11 punches per minute.
The 30-year-old champion is a powerful puncher who utilizes a combination of striking and grappling to overwhelm opponents. The South African has notched 91% of his wins by submission or knockout and has an average fight time of 11 minutes and 27 seconds.
Du Plessis is a talented wrestler and averages three takedowns per 15 minutes with a 51% accuracy rate. Adesanya prefers to keep the fight off the mat and has an impressive 77% takedown defense.
The bad vibes between the two fighters began when Du Plessis - a white South African - took a shot at Adesanya and Kamaru Usman, saying he would be the first true African UFC champion since he still lives in Africa.
"Did those belts ever go to Africa?" Du Plessis asked reporters last year at UFC 285 media day. "As far as I know, they came to America and New Zealand. I'm going to take a belt to Africa. I'm the African fighter in the UFC. Myself and Cameron (Saaiman), we breathe African air. We wake up in Africa every day. We train in Africa, we're African born, we're African raised, we still reside in Africa, we train out of Africa – that's an African champion."
The two-time former middleweight champion did not take the disrespectful comments lightly and plans to take revenge inside the octagon.
"I'm going to f*cking take him to school in the octagon and on history. What he's doing is creating a divide." Adesanya said in a video posted to his YouTube channel last spring. "You can't know your history – I have never questioned him as an African because, yeah, you were born in Africa, South Africa - of course you're an African. I've never questioned that.
"I never did that to him. I never, ever discredited him as an African. OK, you are. Cool. You want to make a fight? Cool. But the fact that, as a f*cking cracker, to tell me who the f*ck I am, that pissed me off. And that's why he's my next fight, because I don't want to fight anyone else. This one pisses me off."
Betting Pick: Adesanya
Betting odds for this captivating middleweight championship battle are live on well-known NY sportsbooks, including Caesars, which has the champion as a +175 underdog. The most common bet type for this UFC fight is the moneyline, a wager on who will win the fight outright.
Considering how the challenger can become just the second UFC fighter to capture titles on three separate occasions in the same division, Adesanya is our bet to make history. A $100 wager on the UFC legend at odds of -140 would net a total payout of $171.43. However, if you fancy an upset with Du Plessis proving the oddsmakers wrong, the same wager would earn a handsome profit of $175.
The Over/Under bet is another popular type, where you wager on the number of rounds the fight will last. Given that six of Adesanya's previous seven fights have gone into the fifth round, we do not expect the fight to end early. Thus, betting Over 3.5 rounds could be a winning pick.
The five-round middleweight title fight will take place on Saturday, August 17, at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. UFC fans in New York can watch the fight live on ESPN+ Pay-per-view.
Former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is a slight favorite to regain his belt against reigning titleholder Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305. Caesars has Adesanya as a -140 betting favorite, while du Plessis is the +175 underdog.
Fourth-ranked Kai Kara-France (24-11-0) will square off against #9-ranked Steve Erceg (12-2-0) in a flyweight matchup. Other fights on the undercard include a pair of heavyweight tussles featuring #10-ranked Tai Tuivasa (15-7-0) vs. #12-ranked Jairzinho Rozenstruik (14-5-0) and Junior Tafa (5-5-0) vs. Valter Walker (11-1-0), two welterweight clashes pitting Song Kenan (20-8-0) vs. Ricky Glenn (22-8-2) and Li Jingliang (19-8-0) vs. Carlos Prates (19-6-0), and a women's flyweight battle between #15-ranked Casey O'Neil (9-2-0) and Tereza Bleda (7-1-0).
Mixed martial arts fans can place bets during the fight with live UFC odds that are constantly updated based on the real action inside the octagon. The most popular types of in-play wagers offered include moneyline bets on the predicted winner, the method of victory, and how long the fight will last.
UFC fans can place various bets on this exciting middleweight championship fight at Caesars, a trusted and popular sportsbook in New York.
