Dricus du Plessis’ first title defense will be a special one, as he will take on the two-time former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The South African defending champion comes into this fight as a slight underdog, but anything can happen in this highly anticipated clash of styles between those two talented fighters.
The UFC 305 full card has some great matchups for the weekend, as Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya will headline the event, while Kai Kara-France will take on Steve Erceg in an interesting flyweight clash, and Dan Hooker will face Mateusz Gamrot.
The event will take place on Sunday, August 18, at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The Last Stylebender won his first UFC middleweight title in Australia, and he lost the belt and his last fight here as well.
| ℹ️ Event: | UFC 305 Main Event, for Middleweight Championship title |
| 🏟️ Venue: | RAC Arena, Perth, Australia |
| 🗓️ Date: | 18 August 2024 |
| ⏰ Time: | From 2:00 AM GMT on Sunday |
The odds for the middleweight title fight haven’t changed much since the opening lines were released. Let’s take a look at what the best 2024 UFC betting apps have to say about the latest du Plessis vs Adesanya odds:
The UFC bookies have Dricus du Plessis as a very slight underdog with odds of 2.0 (Evs) to beat the Last Stylebender, while Israel Adesanya will be the favorite with odds of 1.83 (5/6) to beat the defending champion. These are some of the lowest odds for Adesanya in his UFC career, which shows du Plessis’ strength.
Dricus du Plessis is thriving right now, having won nine straight fights, and will be looking for his 10th win in a row. Stillknocks is at the peak of his career after winning his first UFC middleweight title back in January, defeating Sean Strickland via split decision. The South African fighter is coming into this bout with a lot of confidence, and rightfully so, as he is in better form than Adesanya right now.
Both fighters are coming off a fight against Sean Strickland, as du Plessis beat him while Adesanya lost so that puts physiological pressure on the Last Stylebender. Dricus is a dangerous and unpredictable opponent in this matchup. He has a strong and aggressive grappling style, which might cause a lot of problems for Adesanya.
Israel Adesanya is back after an 11-month break from the UFC after his title loss to Sean Strickland. The Last Stylebender has a 24-3 MMA record after losing two of the last three fights, but he is still one of the greatest middleweight players ever. Adesanya has a lot to gain with a win here and will be back on top of the middleweight division, but it won’t be an easy task against the defending champion.
Adesanya has a 4-inch advantage over du Plessis in height and reach, which will be huge for him if he can use that to his advantage. The Last Stylebender is also better defensively and more solid, as he doesn’t leave himself open to getting struck a lot. Adesanya’s distance management and feints might save him in a lot of moments in this fight, but he has to be careful not to fall into du Plessis’ unpredictable striking.
After breaking down the UFC 305 main event fight between Adesanya and du Plessis, we will take a look at the best betting odds for MMA fights and offer some of the best tips for the fight. Here are our Dricus du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya predictions:
3 (100%)
0
We will go with the defending champion, Dricus du Plessis, to get the win in this one. It’s as simple as betting on the fighter who is on the rise while Adesanya is currently on the decline after losing two of the last three fights. Stillknocks has been as dominant as it gets, beating Sean Strickland, Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, and Darren Till in his last four bouts, and only one of those fights went to distance. On the contrary, Adesanya knocked out only one of his last seven opponents and reminded Alex Volkanovski, who was also dominating his division for a long time, but then something got out of his hands.
2 (100%)
0
Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis have combined 50 fights in their MMA history, and only 12 of those 50 bouts went to distance, and 38 were settled inside of the octagon. There is a long history between those two fighters, and each of them will be eager to knockout the other, as they had the longest faceoff in UFC history for a reason. Du Plessis finished seven of his last 11 fights via KO/TKO, so the same can definitely happen again.
2 (100%)
0
The 1 pound betting sites are offering some enticing odds on the under in this fight. Dricus du Plessis won three of his last four fights before reaching the fourth round. The South African player has never lost via decision in 23 fights so far, so Adesanya’s chances might be to knock him out early, while du Plessis is aggressive and always aims to finish his fights as early as possible.
This fight has the potential to be one of the best of the year, and we will be going with Dricus du Plessis to retain his middleweight title. Make sure to take advantage of the betting bonuses on the live sports betting sites to have more fun watching the event.
