All good things must come to an end—even the seemingly never-ending title reign of City Kickboxing’s Israel Adesanya. Whilst the reign has ended a new journey has begun. In his own words, “F*ck the belt, I’m coming for heads”. If you poke the bear you’re bound to get scratched and the South African UFC Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has done just that. A long time in the making “Stillknocks” Dricus Du Plessis versus Israel “The Last Stylebender” Adesanya finally takes place this weekend. Adesanya puts his 11-month hiatus to bed hoping to emerge a fighter reborn. After a relentless schedule of 16 fights in the past 5 years, his body bared the brunt of it. Refreshed and raring to go Adesanya is ready to tarnish his almost year-long recovery when the cage doors close on Saturday night.
A heated grudge match that has been brewing for years is due to be settled. Neither fond of the other it is bound to be bloody. For all his technical perfection, “The Last Stylebender” seems more than happy to make this fight dirty. A poorly formed sentence from Dricus lit a fire in Izzy. A fire that can only be quenched with violence. After claiming he was going to be the “first real African champion”, Du Plessis earned his spot on the Adesanya hit list.
UFC 305 goes down in Perth, Australia on Saturday 17th of August, headlined by Dricus Du Plessis versus Israel Adesanya.
The Role of the Hunter
Formerly credited for his activity “The Last Stylebender” has fought just 3 times since he fought Jared Cannonier in July 2022. Since then Izzy’s role has changed dramatically. The quadrilogy he shared with former Middleweight and current Light Heavyweight Alex “Poatan” Pereira in MMA and Kickboxing altered his career for better or for worse. Pereira turned Izzy from the hunted to the hunter. This underdog, hunter mindset transformed Adesanya from fight week to his 2nd round KO of his arch-nemesis at UFC 287. For every high, there is a low. This low came in the form of the written-off, unrelenting Sean Strickland at UFC 293.
Though Adesanya granted Strickland the title shot, it was seen unanimously as a warmup fight before Izzy faced Dricus. Whether due to injury, overlooking Strickland or the afterglow of getting one back on Pereira, Adesanya underwhelmed against Strickland. A fight he described as a bad dream the striking mastermind had every weapon suppressed. Every teep caught, low kick checked and straight parried. Most shocking of all was when counterstriker Stylebender was played at his own game. As Izzy swung a left hook, Sean fired a jab, cross down the middle, parking Adesanya on the canvas. From then on Israel struggled to claw back the rounds and Strickland stole the show and the Middleweight belt against all odds.
However, when his back is against the wall he has risen to the occasion. Against Derrick Brunson, the narrative was he could not wrestle. Then versus the physically imposing Paulo Costa, he was perceived as the “skinny clown”. Onto Pereira who came to his sport and seemingly had his number. Israel left all three unconscious. We’ve seen hunter Adesanya before and this weekend we will see it again.
But will we see the same Israel Adesanya of old after a lengthy layoff?
The “Real” African Champion
As mentioned before this fight is more than a sporting legacy. It is a war for African heritage. Though downplayed by the culprit Dricus, Adesanya has not accepted the South African’s explanation. Nigerian-born Israel is proud to be African and does not take the discredit of his heritage lightly. Back in 2021, African MMA was thriving in the UFC. Kamaru Usman cleared out Welterweight, Izzy reigned the Middleweight’s and Francis Ngannou held Heavyweight gold. Named “The Three Kings” it was a proud time for African MMA. So when Dricus Du Plessis came forward to claim he would one day be the “First real African champion”, Adesanya was understandably offended.
Attempting to clear the air “Stillknocks” explained that what he meant was he would be the first champion to win the belt whilst living and training in Africa. A reasonable explanation but his ignorance of the roots of his African lineage struck a nerve in Stylebender. White South Africans arrived in Africa due to the colonisation of the country by their European ancestors in the 20th century. So despite his explanation, Adesanya does not see it as sufficient. In the UFC Countdown preview to their fight, Izzy stated “This fight is about history” as he aims to make history in the process.
The Numbers
Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya are serial finishers with similar experience in MMA. Du Plessis holds a record of 21-2-0 [9KO – 10SUB – 2DEC]. Whilst Adesanya’s record currently reads 24-3-0 [16KO – 0SUB – 8DEC]. Both finishers but Adesanya entirely the striker. Though they share a similar number of fights the calibre of opponent faced favours Adesanya massively. In particular his astounding combined combat sports record of 104-9 across MMA, Kickboxing and Boxing.
Unsurprisingly the lengthier fighter Adesanya has a 3″ height advantage (6’4″) over Dricus (6’1″). In addition he has a 4″ reach advantage at 80″ to Du Plessis’ 76″. The common modus operandi of Stylebender will yet again be in use due to his long stature. Though for all his length Dricus has plenty width. Despite cutting to the same weight “Stillknocks” is certainly the thicker of the two with his incredibly muscular physique. The physique responsible for so many of his victories.
On average Adesanya lands 3.93 SpM (strikes per minute) to the busier Du Plessis’ 6.49. However, for all his activity, Izzy is the more efficient striker of the two with 13 UFC knockdowns to Dricus’s 1. The most telling metric perhaps is the average of 3 takedowns per 15 minutes for “Stillknocks”. Leaning into his home nation’s passion for rugby Dricus keeps his opponents guessing with his awkwardly timed strikes and sporadic takedowns. With a 51% takedown accuracy to go along with it when he shoots, often he will score. Despite this Adesanya has a takedown defence of 77%. But few fighters, particularly in recent years have tried to grapple with him. The last time we truly saw his wrestling tested was against Jan Blachowiz who took Izzy down and held him there. Will the grappling be the difference-maker this weekend?
Stillknocks’s Strange Striking
The ingenious striking and in-fight adaptability of Israel Adesanya will certainly be required this weekend. He faces a fighter in Du Plessis not too dissimilar from former foe Strickland. Dricus Du Plessis regardless of his muscular physique is not entirely a one-punch powerhouse. He mostly uses volume and relentless front-foot pressure to suffocate his opponents. Though he marches into range nullifying the kicking range like Strickland, his weapons of choice are different.
Dricus sits in a lower stance flowing from orthodox to southpaw alternating his favoured left kick accordingly. Du Plessis is content to take one to give one often dropping his guard as he unloads combinations of looping hooks, spinning back fists and Superman jabs. Due to his unusual sometimes sloppy-looking striking his ability has been questioned. But this style earned him a UFC title. If it’s not broken don’t fix it.
The main focus for Adesanya will be to keep Du Plessis far enough away that he can’t reach his legs. Due to the wide stance of Izzy, Du Plessis will certainly try to use his size to outmuscle Stylebender. As we’ve seen countless times when Dricus wraps you up chances are you’re going for a ride.
Stylebender’s Keys to Victory
For Israel Adesanya, we know how he approaches a fight. A plethora of techniques designed to withdraw the weaknesses of his foes. Adesanya’s artistic manipulation of the 8 limbs is why he is so popular. This very reason is what will help him shine against the unpredictable Dricus Du Plessis.
The previously mentioned pressure of Du Plessis, similar to Strickland, is the main factor that could hinder Adesanya. However, Israel’s time in the octagon with Strickland would have primed him for this. In his time off we have seen Adesanya brush up on his boxing in Mexico. Izzy, a fighter known for his long-range kicking game and straight punches may show a new side to his game. Fast combinations and slick feet to slip out of the pocket against the more flat-footed Du Plessis could prove to be a difference maker.
When up close utilising the clinch and initiating fast under hooks like he did against Pereira and Costa could help halt the wild barages. Locking Dricus up in the clinch and unleashing knees and elbows when backed up against the fence. The staple of Adesanya’s elite striking is his short shuffling footwork. His ability to slide in and out of range is one of the best in the UFC and will massively benefit him against the charging Stillknocks. A well timed slip away from one of Dricus’s chaotic surges could open up a window for a sharp counter.
Izzy must maintain a solid kicking range when possible. Chipping away at the legs will benefit him as the fight wears on. Stomping oblique kicks and slicing calf kicks against the heavily stanced Dricus will help stop him in his tracks. Further using the low kicks to earn the respect of his opponent will help draw a reaction. As hinted by former opponent Darren Till Du Plessis has shown to be reactive to feints and put himself at risk when flinching. If Israel can land damage early in the fight to gain the respect of Dricus we could see a vintage Stylebender highlight reel KO.
We have seen Izzy’s ability to maintain his stamina for five rounds countless times. Namely in his rematch with Marvin Vettori where he managed to nullify the grappling attempts and return to his feet when grounded. The insight he provides fans through his YouTube vlog series of his training camp for UFC 305 is very telling. Lots of muscular endurance drills, consecutively followed by fast pad work and takedown defence. All factors will pay dividends in this inevitably physically gruelling fight that goes down on Saturday night.
At UFC 305 in Perth, Australia will contender Izzy shine as the hunter again?
Featured image credit to Embed from Getty Images
