Du Plessis Stakes Title Against Adesanya in ‘Battle of African Brothers’

Dricus du Plessis will be putting his UFC middleweight title on the line against Israel Adesanya at the RAC Arena in Perth today, making it the first time he will be defending his title.

Oftentimes, fighters build up a storyline in the lead-up to a title match, but this bout feels much different, as there is genuine dislike between the two fighters, which ramps up the excitement from a viewers’ perspective.

The two fighters are coming to the bout with exceptional records, with the champion, Dricus ‘Stillknocks’ Du Plessis, who has a professional record of 21-2-0 and a UFC resume that reads as 7-0-0 – still undefeated in the promotion.

In terms of the tale of the tape, he is five years younger than Adesanya but is the shorter of the two at 1.85m compared to 1.93m, and the champion also has a reach disadvantage, with a wingspan of 193cm versus the challenger’s 203.2cm.

However, the South African is as tough as nails, and has no problem making up for his height disadvantage by getting up close and personal with his opponents.

Adesanya calling DDP his ‘African brother’, to which the champion replied, “I’m African, but I ain’t no brother of yours, son,” has since become the slogan of this blockbuster matchup.

In these two fighters, you could hardly get more contrasting styles, with Du Plessis being one of the most awkward seen in the division compared to The Last Stylebender, whose precision and athleticism are elite.

However, the big question for the two-time champion, who is now 24-3-0, is whether he is in the sort of condition to take on a fighting champion after a year out of action, especially having turned 35 last month.