Dricus Du Plessis solidified his reign as the middleweight champion, defeating former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round to retain his belt in the main event at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Saturday.
After landing a powerful left hook, Du Plessis overwhelmed Adesanya with a flurry of strikes before taking him to the ground.
There, the champion secured the choke, forcing Adesanya to tap out at 3 minutes and 38 seconds. Du Plessis (22-2) extended his winning streak to 10 fights, having previously captured the 185-pound title with a split decision victory over Sean Strickland in January.
He entered the fight as ESPN’s top-ranked middleweight.
Adesanya (24-4), who hadn’t competed since losing his title to Strickland by unanimous decision last September, was ranked No. 7 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound men’s rankings going into the fight.
Before that setback, he regained his belt by knocking out Alex Pereira.
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