Dricus du Plessis took a flurry of body hits across four rounds before defeating Israel Adesanya by submission to retain his middleweight championship at UFC 305 on Sunday.
After scoring some early takedowns, du Plessis (22-2) had to withstand a flurry of body strikes from Adesanya through the middle rounds which appeared to be taking a toll on the 30-year-old South African as the fight progressed.
But a left hook followed by three rights helped bring Adesanya down which gave du Plessis the opening he wanted as he swiftly got the choke hold which forced the Nigerian-born New Zealander to tap out at 3:38 into the fourth round.
“This man is the king of getting back up,” du Plessis said of Adesanya, who was bidding to become a middleweight champion for the third time. “I’m still alive, that’s a bonus.
“I came here to die for this belt and to
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