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"title": "Dricus du Plessis to defend UFC middleweight title for first time against ‘African brother’ Israel Adesanya",
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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis will defend his middleweight Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) belt for the first time at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on 18 August against Israel Adesanya.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The long-awaited fight will take place seven months after the champion captured the division title via a split-decision victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada, in January.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was Strickland who initially grabbed the belt from Adesanya, who held the middleweight title from April 2019 to November 2022, and from April 2023 until he was beaten by Strickland in September 2023.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since UFC 297 Strickland has beaten Paulo Costa at UFC 302 at the start of June, but has not been offered an opportunity for a rematch against Du Plessis despite the split-decision loss.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead, it’s Adesanya, who went undefeated in the UFC middleweight division for four years, who has been given a shot at a title only UFC legend Anderson Silva has held for longer.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2238296\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1941059672.jpg\" alt=\"Dricus du Plessis\" width=\"720\" height=\"451\" /> <em>Dricus du Plessis (left) launches an attack against Sean Strickland in a middleweight title bout during UFC 297 in Toronto on 20 January 2024. (Photo: Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Apparently he already announced his own fight,” UFC president Dana White said on The Jim Rome Show podcast after Adesanya posted a photo of the fight against Du Plessis to his social media pages after months of speculation about whether the fight would happen.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“He’s fighting in Perth [against] Du Plessis… in Perth. Now it’s official. He didn’t tell us. I saw that he had announced it so there it is.”</span>\r\n<h4><b>History</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fight between Du Plessis and Adesanya is hotly anticipated because of the verbal jabs the pair have been throwing at each other over the past two years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Du Plessis became the first South African UFC champion with his win over Strickland.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adesanya and Du Plessis’s rivalry started in 2023 when the latter claimed he wanted to be “the first real African champion” in the UFC. The comment offended Adesanya, who found it disrespectful to other UFC African champions like himself.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the time, the UFC had three African-born champions – Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou (heavyweight), Nigerian-born Adesanya (middleweight) and Kamaru Usman (welterweight).</span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2238286\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1671083303.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" /> <em>Israel Adesanya kicks Strickland during their UFC 293 bout at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on 10 September 2023. (Photo: Mark Evans / Getty Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2238285\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1671075498.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"479\" /> <em>Israel Adesanya had long been considered the man to beat in the division until his surprise loss to Strickland. (Photo: Chris Unger / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)</em></p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Du Plessis clarified that he aimed to become the first UFC champion to be born in Africa and live and train there.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neither Adesanya, Usman nor Ngannou lived or trained on the continent when they were UFC champions.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two proud fighters came to a head at UFC 290 in July 2023, when Du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker by TKO. Adesanya, a middleweight champion at the time, entered the ring and called Du Plessis his “African brother”, among other things.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Du Plessis quickly responded: “I’m African, but I ain’t no brother of yours, son.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The roles are reversed now, as Du Plessis will be the one entering the octagon at the main event of UFC 305 with the belt around his waist.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adesanya is expected to have a large support base at the fight, since he spent his formative years in New Zealand, which is part of Australasia.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Du Plessis, however, could find himself being cheered on by several Springbok rugby stars because the national rugby team will be taking on the Wallabies a few hours earlier that day, at Perth’s Accor Stadium. </span><b>DM</b>",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis will defend his middleweight Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) belt for the first time at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on 18 August against Israel Adesanya.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The long-awaited fight will take place seven months after the champion captured the division title via a split-decision victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada, in January.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was Strickland who initially grabbed the belt from Adesanya, who held the middleweight title from April 2019 to November 2022, and from April 2023 until he was beaten by Strickland in September 2023.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since UFC 297 Strickland has beaten Paulo Costa at UFC 302 at the start of June, but has not been offered an opportunity for a rematch against Du Plessis despite the split-decision loss.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead, it’s Adesanya, who went undefeated in the UFC middleweight division for four years, who has been given a shot at a title only UFC legend Anderson Silva has held for longer.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2238296\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2238296\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1941059672.jpg\" alt=\"Dricus du Plessis\" width=\"720\" height=\"451\" /> <em>Dricus du Plessis (left) launches an attack against Sean Strickland in a middleweight title bout during UFC 297 in Toronto on 20 January 2024. 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I saw that he had announced it so there it is.”</span>\r\n<h4><b>History</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fight between Du Plessis and Adesanya is hotly anticipated because of the verbal jabs the pair have been throwing at each other over the past two years.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Du Plessis became the first South African UFC champion with his win over Strickland.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adesanya and Du Plessis’s rivalry started in 2023 when the latter claimed he wanted to be “the first real African champion” in the UFC. The comment offended Adesanya, who found it disrespectful to other UFC African champions like himself.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the time, the UFC had three African-born champions – Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou (heavyweight), Nigerian-born Adesanya (middleweight) and Kamaru Usman (welterweight).</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2238286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2238286\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1671083303.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" /> <em>Israel Adesanya kicks Strickland during their UFC 293 bout at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on 10 September 2023. (Photo: Mark Evans / Getty Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2238285\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-2238285\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1671075498.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"479\" /> <em>Israel Adesanya had long been considered the man to beat in the division until his surprise loss to Strickland. (Photo: Chris Unger / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)</em>[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Du Plessis clarified that he aimed to become the first UFC champion to be born in Africa and live and train there.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neither Adesanya, Usman nor Ngannou lived or trained on the continent when they were UFC champions.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two proud fighters came to a head at UFC 290 in July 2023, when Du Plessis defeated Robert Whittaker by TKO. 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Dricus du Plessis (left) launches an attack against Sean Strickland in a middleweight title bout during UFC 297 in Toronto on 20 January 2024. (Photo: Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)
Israel Adesanya kicks Strickland during their UFC 293 bout at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on 10 September 2023. (Photo: Mark Evans / Getty Images)
Israel Adesanya had long been considered the man to beat in the division until his surprise loss to Strickland. (Photo: Chris Unger / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)