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In what was an upset, here are the 3 reasons why Nigeria's Israel Adesanya lost to South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305.
Dricus du Plessis of South Africa submitted Israel Adesanya of Nigeria in the fourth round of UFC 305's main event at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, to keep the UFC middleweight title.
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From the beginning, both players engaged in intense competition, but Du Plessis was able to slow down the game by strategically combining leg kicks and blitzes, and Adesanya also produced scoring possibilities with his own long-range strikes.
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Dricus du Plessis tries to break Israel Adesanya's neck - South African submits Nigerian to win UFC 305
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Du Plessis brought his game to the party and kept controlling the wrestling match, even though Adesanya was able to stand up at the start of the second round.
While a worn-out Du Plessis continued to land strikes here and there but stopped wrestling, Adesanya rallied in the third round with more bodywork.
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Up until Du Plessis resumed his grappling in the fourth round, Adesanya was in the lead.
Organizing a takedown with his right hand, Du Plessis immediately completed a rear-naked choke, forcing the opponent to tap out and ending the fiight.
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3 Reasons why Adesanya lost to Du Plessis
1. Long Layoff
Adesanya decided to take some very much-needed time after his loss to Sean Strickland last year.
Losing in a Championship fight and then taking an 11 break to come back in one of the most competitive divisions of the UFC was always a daunting task.
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Adesanya taking a break might have been batteries and also a mental exhaustion but for his competitiveness at Middleweight, it was a step back.
While he was away Du Plessis plied on victories against Robert Whittaker and Strickland coming to UFC 305 in great shape physically and mentally.
2. Wrestling
It has always been a challenge for Adesanya to wrestle with opponents in the Middleweight division.
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Many tried and many failed as his quickness and ring intelligence made him difficult to take down.
Also, the threat of his long arms and power shots to the body were deterrents to caution opponents from wrestling.
However, as time passed Adesanya has been susceptible to takedowns and Du Plessis made it clear this was going to be his strategy.
His inability to wrestle was a minor deficiency for Adesanya but after the Nigerian suffered a loss standing toe to toe with Strickland there was nothing to lose for Du Plessis to take advantage.
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3 Time
At the end of the day, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) greats come and go and we are already witnessing the change of champions across all divisions.
Adesanya dominated the Middleweight division for an extended period with signature victories against Whittaker and Vettori twice.
He also took out Paulo Costa, Kelvin Gastelum, Yoel Romero, and Jared Cannonier.
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However, he is now 35 years old, and while he said after the fight he is not going anywhere, retirement is something he should consider.
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov once teased that MMA star should consider retirement at 33 as the decline sets in.
It is no shame to say Adesanya is not as quick as he once was evident again against Du Plessis and with Khamzat Chimaev coming through it may be time for the Stylebender to call it.
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