Dricus du Plessis scored a fourth-round submission via rear-naked choke on Israel Adesanya to successfully defend his UFC middleweight title.
The much-hyped title bout got off to a subdued start with the fighters feeling one another out without taking too many first-round risks. Du Plessis would head back to his corner with a superficial forehead cut, but neither fighter seemed particularly worse for wear as the first round ended.
The intensity ramped up significantly in the second. The South African shot for a takedown and took the fight to the ground. Appearing in control of proceedings, du Plessis tried to lock in a choke but Adesanya’s superb ground defence came to the fore as he escaped and got back to his feet.
The challenger appeared to take control of the fight in the third round, delivering several energy-sapping body shots along with a vicious elbow during one of the round’s exchanges. Du Plessis stayed in the contest with some combinations of his own but appeared to be tiring the faster of the two.
The writing appeared to be on the wall at the start of the fourth round, with Adesanya’s fierce striking ability putting the South African on the back foot. However, du Plessis, as he has done so many times in his career, exploded to life seemingly out of nowhere.
Landing a series of big right hands, the South African had the challenger retreating as he dragged him to the canvas. The Welkom native locked in the rear naked choke, forcing Adesanya to tap as he capped off a memorable sporting weekend for South Africa.
