Watch UFC 305 promo featuring Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya grudge match
Israel Adesanya is back for one of the biggest fights of his career.
On Sunday, the official promo for UFC 305 was released, headlined by middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis defending his title against two-time champion Adesanya, who will be back from an 11-month hiatus when he steps into the cage for the Aug. 17 main event in Perth, Australia.
Watch the UFC 305 hype trailer below.
Tensions have been high between du Plessis and Adesanya for years, with the two butting heads over cultural differences while du Plessis was chasing Adesanya at the top. Before the two could fight, Adesanya lost his title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293, and Strickland subsequently dropped the belt to du Plessis at UFC 297.
Now, the path is clear for the grudge match to be resolved.
Du Plessis seeks the first defense of his middleweight title after taking it from Strickland via a narrow split decision. The South African star is 7-0 in his UFC career.
Adesanya has not fought since this past September after losing to Strickland in lopsided fashion. He has had two reigns with the middleweight title, successfully defending it five times and winning it a second time with an incredible knockout of longtime rival Alex Pereira at UFC 287.
In the co-main event, recent flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg fights top contender Kai Kara-France.
UFC 305 takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 17 and airs exclusively on ESPN+ pay-per-view.