Category Archives: Mmafighting.com

For Dricus du Plessis, everything went according to plan.

On Saturday, du Plessis successfully defended his UFC middleweight title, submitting Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305. The bout was a back-and-forth battle over the first three rounds, with both men landing shots and Adesanya, for the most part, defending du Plessis’s takedown attempts. But in the fourth round, “Stillknocks” was able to take advantage of a retreating Adesanya to land big shots, score a takedown, and quickly lock in a fight-ending rear-naked choke. And according to the champ, that was mostly the plan.

“He had more heart [than expected],” du Plessis said in the post-fight press conference. “I said I’m taking him out in the third and I got him out in the fourth. I could see in the end of the third he was starting to break down, starting to break down, starting to break down. But there just wasn’t enough.

“But in the fourth round, the story of the fight was — because I knew — look at my game plan. Me and my coaches … looked at what he does and he kept on talking about he’s a new fighter, he’s going to come in there, be different, the old Adesanya. So he’s going to come in there and try and fight me and stop me from going forward, because they know that’s how I fight and that’s his kryptonite. He’s not going to make the same mistake like he did against Strickland.

“So every round, you can at the beginning of that round I was standing my ground, but he was in the middle of the octagon, and he was almost dictating. But if you’re not used to fighting like that, you get more tired, if you’re not used fighting with that kind of pressure. And I didn’t back off. I wasn’t fighting on the outside, I just stood my ground. And every round, [with] around two minutes [left] my coach would shout, ‘Listen, it’s time to go!’ And I would start pushing forward, start pushing forward. That’s when I started getting — every round at the end, I got the success, got the success. And every round, the first bit of the round when he was dictating would be shorter, shorter, shorter. In that fourth round, I landed quite a lot of big shots. The man can take a punch, but you can only take that many.”

Of course, the old adage is that everyone has a game plan until they get hit, and du Plessis acknowledged not everything went perfectly in the fight. “DDP” credited Adesanya for his durability and his kicks in particular, and admitted that he wasn’t planning on a submission finish, it just happened that way.

“I knew, physically, I’m stronger than Israel Adesanya,” du Plessis said. “He is a master at getting back to his feet if you have his back. [Robert] Whittaker had his back many times. How many guys have gotten him down and not been able to do anything with it? So I got him down in the second round, landed a couple of hard shots, and every time he would get back to his feet, I didn’t fight him on it. I just kept control of the hits and landed big shots, because he was so focused on my hands on his hips, he wouldn’t protect his face. Land big shots, maybe they’d create a cut, that was what I was hoping for. Land big, big, hard punches, then get him back down to the ground so he has to do all that trouble [again].

“In that fourth, man was staggered from the blows. I could see when he went down, I landed big shots. I didn’t plan on taking him down. I was actually planning on knocking him out [but] body positioning was just that of, the best thing to do right now is take him down. And I could feel as we went to the ground, he wasn’t resisting at all. He was out of it a little, I got the back, and as soon as I straightened him out, it was over.”

Heading into UFC 305, there was a fair amount of bad blood between du Plessis and Adesanya, stemming from comments made about the nature of being an African champion, but afterward both men were highly respectful of each other. In fact, backstage post-fight, the two shared an embrace as du Plessis gifted Adesanya a jacket and Adesanya raised du Plessis’ hand as the true champ.

The moment garnered a lot of attention from fans, and as he puts his rivalry with Adesanya to bed, du Plessis explained exactly what happened there.

“I never went after his family,” du Plessis said. “I just wanted to make sure — I have parents too. I respect anybody’s parents, so I just went over to him and said after the fight, ‘If it sounded like I was saying anything bad about your parents, that was not the case.’ What I’m saying to you, harden up. If you want to cry about that, so be it. But I will never disrespect your parents. And he said, no, no, no, he understands.

“As a warrior to a warrior, I’m still not [friends] with Israel Adesanya. We are not friends because on a personal level we do not see eye to eye, but warrior to warrior, after spending that time with him in the octagon and what he’s achieved in the sport, it’s no secret, I respect that. And after spending the time with him in the octagon, you can’t not respect that man and what he’s done in the sport. So to give him that jacket was a token, a reminder, a token of appreciation, a thank you for this. It’s a memory for me. It’s such a massive moment in my life, fighting a great fighter like Israel Adesanya.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

MMA Fighting has DWCS results for all the action from season eight, week two of UFC’s Contender Series on Tuesday night at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nev.

In the main event, 33-year-old Canadian Andreas Gustafsson and 33-year-old Swede Pat Pytlik square off in a welterweight bout.

Check out the DWCS results below for Contender Series season eight, week two.

Fight Card

Andreas Gustafsson vs. Pat Pytlik

Rizvan Kuniev vs. Hugo Cunha

Cortavious Romious vs. Michael Imperato

Cam Rowston vs. Torrez Finney

Billy Brand vs. Cody Haddon

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC 305 is in the books and the champion remains Dricus du Plessis.

In classic DDP form, the champion retained his title with a fourth-round submission that left many fans frustrated by how a fighter who appears to be so flawed can nonetheless be the best in the world. But like him or not, du Plessis is the king of the mountain at 185 pounds, with three straight wins over former UFC champions. It’s his world and we’re just living in it, so let’s talk about the fallout from UFC 305.

Dricus du Plessis

“DDP: The best worst fighter ever of the worst best fighter ever?”

In the famous words of Old El Paso: ¿Por qué no los dos?

As one of the leading drivers of the DDP bandwagon over the past few years, this weekend was delicious, not because he won, but because he won while being completely true to form. There are a bunch of very smart people who I respect that insist du Plessis is not good, and seeing him break everyone’s brains by winning what should be a terrible matchup — and doing so in classic DDP fashion — is so fun. Because I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t love du Plessis in spite of his flaws, you love him because of them.

Here is an objective fact: du Plessis 8-0 in the UFC with six stoppages, including over the two greatest middleweights of this era, and three straight victories over former champions. Here is a subjective fact: he’s looked ugly as hell in all of those fights, which is why despite the results, there are still many smart people who refuse to respect him. And they’re not entirely wrong! Du Plessis is both unequivocally excellent and obviously deeply flawed. You would never teach someone to fight like him, and yet it undeniably works. He’s Schrödinger’s MMA fighter and I love him dearly.

The reality is, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. You know what they call a guy who wins ugly? A winner. Doesn’t matter how he does it or what it looks like, du Plessis gets the job done. And honestly, skill is overrated in fighting. Sure, it’s good to have and it can absolutely make the difference between evenly matched competitors, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. A lot of the time, fighting is just about being a unit. That’s why, for as much as we love him, Demetrious Johnson would get obliterated by Tai Tuivasa. Being bigger and stronger than your opponent has been the backbone of fighting since the stone age, and DDP has that in spades.

Now, that’s not to say it’s all the champ has. Aside from being a hoss, du Plessis is also extremely durable, loaded with grit, and has a terrific mind for the sport, all of which makes him a handful. The last bit is the most important part though. Despite not hailing from a big gym, du Plessis and his camp has pretty firmly established themselves as elite game-planners, tailoring specific tactics and strategies for each opponent. Against Adesanya, DDP knew exactly how Izzy would approach the fight — and how to take advantage of it — and it played out exactly like that. When you’re that smart about fighting and a physical monster, it’s OK that not everything you throw is textbook.

Ultimately, flaws are only flaws if other fighters can take advantage of them, and thus far, no one in the UFC has for DDP. Could someone do so in the future? Sure, but I won’t be picking against him for the foreseeable future.

Future challengers

“Which middleweight currently represents the biggest challenger to DDP?”

Well, for all intents and purposes it appears that Sean Strickland will get the next short at du Plessis, and the next challenger is always the biggest, especially given how close their first fight was. That being said, if Strickland beats du Plessis, it will be a classic Strickland split decision, so like, that’s not really fun. It’s just a matter of the judges on the night. If we’re talking about someone who can really take the belt off du Plessis, it’s Khamzat Chimaev.

As mentioned above, du Plessis is this concoction of brains and brawn that makes him really hard to reckon with. To beat him, you either have to have a very defensive style where you can outwork him while not letting him hulk you (Strickland), or you have to meet him head-on with force and out-hulk him. Adesanya tried to do that at points and found that he didn’t have it in him (because again, dude is a HOSS), but Chimaev might. And that’s only a might. I still would pick du Plessis in that fight. But if there’s a dude who can simply out-physical him, DDP doesn’t exactly have the tools to manage that. But beyond that, you’re looking for like, Bo Nickal, and he’s a long way away from coming into this conversation.

All-Stars

“Who joins DDP on the “MMA Style that Probably Should Not Work but it Does Work” All-Star Team?”

Though I would quibble with this description because I think it in fact should work for DDP (see above), the first person that comes to mind is Justin Gaethje. I said this several times before UFC 305, but du Plessis is a combination of Gaethje from before the Dustin Poirier loss and Yoel Romero (two of my all-time favorites, so of course I love this dude). Gaethje’s self-described style of “creating car crashes” was obviously ridiculous except it totally worked for most of his career.

The next person I think of, though I’m loath to admit it, is Brian Ortega. I feel about Ortega the same way everyone else feels about DDP: he is not good and I don’t understand how he keeps winning. Ortega is among the worst defensive fighters I’ve ever see but gets away with it because he’s impossible to kill and he has such predatory offense that he can get wailed on infinitely and still find a finish.

And of course, the best possible example of this is the man that I desperately need to see du Plessis fight one day: Jiri Prochazka.

Jiri is an absolute maniac when he fights and he doesn’t even have the otherworldly durability of someone like Ortega; he just doesn’t care. Basically, everyone that fights Jiri should Alex Pereira him and yet only “Poatan” has.

MMA nirvana

“By the gods Jed how do we make Dricus vs Jiri happen, I need to see that fight more than any other besides Topuria-Holloway. It would be the most chaotic evil stupid fun fight since Dada-Kimbo except with actual fighting skill.”

Good God willing and the creek don’t rise, we’ll get it, because I need this fight like I need oxygen. Other than Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway, there’s not a fight I want to see more in MMA (including Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Eddie Hall). I would pay all of King Midas’ silver for that matchup. So we must will it into existence.

(Mike) Heck, I did it with Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., we can to it with this one.

Alex Pereira

“Will Poatan actually make 185 again?”

Nah. If these two ever fight, it will be up at 205. I doubt Pereira can even make 185 anymore, and even if he did, for what? This is just Alex being very good at understanding that fighting is about keeping as many irons in the fire as you can at all times, because maybe something sparks fan interest and then you have big money.

For what it’s worth, Pereira would boop DDP violently up at light heavyweight, but if he has to cut down to 185, it’s 50/50. Cutting that much weight really diminishes you, I’m not at all confident a drained Pereira can stop DDP’s takedowns.

Israel Adesanya

“Does this actually free Izzy up to make a REAL 205 move? Like, fight a top contender to establish legitimacy like Alex did…. I’m thinking Izzy Jiri b/c who TF wouldn’t immediately pay all the moneys to see that?”

Immediately after UFC 305, I would have thought Adesanya would use this as an opportunity to move up light heavyweight permanently for the final act of his career, but then in his post-fight presser he said he didn’t want to do that. So him moving up to 205 seems unlikely.

That being said, him fighting Jiri still seems in play. Prochazka’s coach already suggested a possible drop to middleweight for Jiri, and if that happens, a matchup with Adesanya makes all the sense in the world. If not, Adesanya’s next opponent will just depend on timing and how a few of these future fights go. Like, if Robert Whittaker beats Khamzat Chimaev, Adesanya vs. Chimaev makes a lot of sense. Similarly, if Kevin Holland beats Roman Dolidze, that fight makes a ton of sense.

But if you’re looking for a moon shot, something that makes no sense by merit but would be great business and is absolutely possible, it’s Izzy vs. Bo Nickal. If Izzy wins, it was a big fight and Bo doesn’t lose any shine. If Bo wins, man just got fast-tracked to a title shot. Win-win.

Kai Kara-France

“KKF-Pantoja: is it happening next and who wins?”

In the co-main event at UFC 305, Kai Kara-France stopped his two-fight losing streak with a first-round stoppage of former title challenger Steve Erceg. It was a very good return to form and afterward he called for a shot at flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja. Will he get it? Kind of seems like he might!

The flyweight division is in a weird spot at the moment because Pantoja has already beaten most of the top contenders, and the ones he hasn’t all have some kind of blocker. Amir Albazi is chronically injured, Tatsuro Taira is currently booked, and Muhammad Mokaev is no longer with the UFC because they just didn’t like him. In concept, Mokaev should have been up next; that’s now a complete no-go.

So unless UFC wants to ice Pantoja until after Taira and Brandon Royval fight in October (meaning he probably wouldn’t fight until next year), there are only two real options: either “KKF” gets it, or recent UFC signing and former RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura gets it. UFC generally hates to give title shots to people who have never fought under the banner, so process of elimination is that Kara-France punched his ticket to a title fight on Saturday.

And should that happen, I’d strongly favor Pantoja to win. He’s just a better all-around fighter. Pants can striker, grapple, mix up the two, and he’s nigh unkillable. I think it will look like most Pantoja fights, which is to say fun as hell with Pantoja retaining his belt.

Controversy

“Thoughts on the commission sending Howie Booth home after that horrible 30-27 scorecard he turned in for Tai? Do you think this is something we could start seeing more often?”

If you missed it, Howie Booth put down one of the worst scorecards in MMA history at UFC 305, giving Tai Tuivasa a 30-27 against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, despite being massively out-landed in every round and anyone with eyeballs being clear about who won. It’s not the worst scorecard of all-time (shoutout to the two judges who said Mike Easton beat Chase Beebe), but it may well be the worst scorecard in UFC history. It was so bad that the commission yanked him from the event afterward, which was a first as far as I can remember. And I’m glad they did. He has no business ever working again in MMA judging.

I am extremely lenient with MMA judges because the sport is subjective and they have the worst seats in the house. I’ve sat cageside plenty, and until you do it, it’s hard to recognize how different that view can be. I’ve scored fights very differently cageside than I did when I went back and watched them from after. But even taking that into consideration, there are only two plausible explanations for what happened there: gross incompetence or straight up fraud.

There is simply no view of the fight, no angle of the outcome, that is up for that sort of egregious scoring. Either Booth put the wrong numbers in the wrong columns or he had some nefarious ulterior motives. If it’s the latter, banned for life and let’s get the cops involved. If it’s the former, still banned for life. This is serious business and gross incompetence should not be allowed.

And for what it’s worth, I assume the answer is the former. Never ascribe to malice what you can to incompetence. Booth was just woefully, dangerously incompetent, and so had to be removed.

Thanks for reading, and thank you for everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas are running things back.

The two veteran UFC strawweights are expected to collide in a rematch on Dec. 14 at UFC Tampa, which takes place at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. MMA Fighting’s Guiherme Cruz confirmed the matchup Monday following an initial report by Ag. Fight.

Dern and Ribas previously fought once before in the UFC in October 2019, with Ribas outpointing Dern to hand the jiu-jitsu champion her first professional MMA loss. Coincidentally, that fight also took place at Tampa’s Amalie Arena.

Dern (14-5) is MMA Fighting’s No. 8 ranked strawweight in the world. One of the most decorated female jiu-jitsu athletes of all-time, she recently rebounded from a two-fight losing streak at the hands of Jessica Andrade and Amanda Lemos to score a decision win over Loopy Godinez at UFC Abu Dhabi in August.

Ribas (13-5) is MMA Fighting’s No. 9 ranked strawweight in the world. December’s bout marks a return to strawweight for the Brazilian following a hard-fought decision loss to former two-time UFC champion Rose Namajunas in March at UFC Vegas 89, which also served as Ribas’ first UFC main event. In her most recent strawweight bout, Ribas picked up a third-round knockout of Luana Pinheiro in November 2023.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Manny Pacquiao scored a knockout in court after a judge overturned and vacated a verdict against him in a lawsuit filed by Paradigm Sports Management, a prominent agency that also represents UFC superstar Conor McGregor.

Judge Walter P. Schwarm issued his decision on Aug. 12 in court documents obtained by MMA Fighting on Monday. The judge stated that the “court finds for Mr. Pacquiao on the cross-complaint’s declaratory relief cause of action and declares the contract void due to illegality.”

Basically the decision boiled down to Audie Attar — Paradigm’s founder and CEO — not holding a management license issued by the California State Athletic Commission at the time the contract was signed to represent Pacquiao.

The judge didn’t dispute that Pacquiao signed the agreement to have Paradigm represent him, but “Mr. Attar’s testimony supports that [Paradigm Sports Management] did not have the required license … based on the evidence, the court finds that Mr. Pacquiao has demonstrated, by a preponderance of evidence, that [Paradigm Sports Management] did not have the required license under [California law].”

Based on those findings, the court ruled that “the contract is illegal” and “unenforceable.”

As a result, the judge overturned the jury’s verdict, which originally awarded $ 5.1 million damages to Paradigm after the company alleged that Pacquiao was in breach of contract after signing with the agency to represent him for future fight negotiations but ultimately allowing others to continue negotiating for him for bouts. Paradigm also paid Pacquiao millions in a signing bonus to join the agency, which was part of the basis for the lawsuit.

“After hearing Paradigm Sports Management’s objections to the tentative decision, the court decided the contract that Paradigm sought to enforce Mr. Pacquiao was illegal as Paradigm was not properly licensed,” Pacquiao’s attorney Jason Aniel said in a statement to The Philippine Star.

“This decision negates the jury’s findings back in May of 2023. We thank the court’s time and effort in this matter. Mr. Pacquiao thanks his fans for their patience while the court fully resolved all the legal issues.”

All told, Pacquiao was on the hook for more than $ 8 million, including attorney fees, due to Paradigm from the jury’s verdict, which was issued back in 2023.

Now that decision has been vacated.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

A new trial date is set for the UFC antitrust lawsuit initially filed against the promotion by fighters such as Cung Le, Nate Quarry, and others back in 2014.

On Monday, Judge Richard Boulware in Nevada set a new trial date on Feb. 3, 2025, and also informed both the plaintiffs and defendants that the date won’t be changed unless he approves a new preliminary settlement agreement between the two parties.

The trial is set to start in 2025 after Boulware denied a settlement agreement between the UFC and fighters involved in two separate antitrust lawsuits — one covering athletes from 2010 to 2017 and a second representing fighters from 2017 to the present — that would have paid out $ 335 million.

The judge previously stated in court that he objected to the settlement because the agreed upon payout seemed low and the fighters represented in the second lawsuit — covering athletes from 2017 to the present — could object to arbitration and class-action waiver clauses in existing contracts.

The initial antitrust lawsuit filed in 2014 argued that UFC engaged “in a scheme to acquire and maintain monopsony power in the market for elite professional MMA fighter services.” The fighters claimed UFC achieved that goal through three key elements: Exclusive contracts, coercion, and acquisitions that eliminated potential competitors.

Despite both UFC and the fighters agreeing to the settlement, the judge issued his denial and ordered the trial to start next year unless the two parties can come to a new agreement for him to approve.

In court prior to the judge denying the settlement agreement, attorneys for the fighters noted that the athletes involved in the lawsuit could use the money sooner rather than later with TKO Group Holdings — the company that owns UFC — already earmarking funds to pay out the $ 335 million with disbursement expected to start as early as September.

“They’d be better off both taking the money, getting the injunctive relief,” Eric Cramer, lead attorney for the fighters told the judge prior to his ruling. “The world where that doesn’t happen is not in that fighter’s interests because I would tell that fighter if they were in my office, ‘You’re likely to lose. You’re likely to get nothing.’”

To win at trial, the fighters have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt and secure a unanimous decision from the jury. Even if a jury finds in favor of the fighters, UFC would almost certainly file an appeal, and that could play out in court over several more years.

Of course, UFC and the fighters can continue talks in hopes of reaching a new settlement agreement that would prevent the trial from actually starting but the judge still needs to sign off with his approval.

For now, UFC and the fighters are preparing to make arguments in court starting on Feb. 3, 2025.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Michael Bisping didn’t pull any punches when it comes to Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson.

On November 15, Paul and Tyson face off in an eight-round boxing match at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. The bout has drawn a lot a lot of criticism given the nearly 30-year age gap between the two and the fact it was already postponed once due to a Tyson medical episode, but that hasn’t slowed the promotion. Over the weekend, the duo held a press conference in New York City, which UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping reacted to.

“Let’s see what this press conference delivers,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “We know the fight is a joke, to be honest, but let’s see what the press conference delivers. See if it can get us any more excited for this absolute shit show. This farce of a fight. I’m not very convinced it will.”

Unfortunately, the press conference didn’t seem to assuage any of Bisping’s issues. On the contrary, as Paul adopted a combative demeanor during the event, even telling the booing crowd “you’re just like Mike Tyson, you were good 20 years ago,” Bisping noted that was giving up the game.

“Jake, I hate to point out the obvious, that makes you look pathetic,” Bisping said. “You just admitted that you’re going up against an old man, who is a legend of course, but he’s not that guy anymore.

“Jake Paul, he’s a total — he’s just a tool bag. I’m not going to lower myself and swear. Look at him. It’s nice to see that he’s finally getting booed and the kind of response that he deserves.”

Of course, the reality is, this fight is not so much about competition as it is a business decision. The bout will be the first live combat sports event streamed on Netflix and figures to generate a massive amount of money for all parties involved. Nonetheless, Paul repeatedly referenced the fight as a meaningful step in proving he’s a real boxer, and Bisping takes umbrage with Paul insisting on marketing this as anything other than a cash grab.

“You are a joke,” Bisping said. “You are a disgrace to the combat world. You’re an imposter. You’re a wannabe. You’re a fake. Challenge yourself, you pathetic man, you pathetic individual. Fighting is about challenging yourself. Granted, business. Killing it in that regard. But don’t give me this fighter bullshit. That’s what gets on my nerves.

“The man’s almost 60,” Bisping said. “He’s almost a pensioner. … Mike Tyson was a terrifying individual. To go up against that man, in his prime, Jesus Christ, he was one of the scariest individuals that we’ve ever seen throughout any combat sport. The man was a straight killer. Was. Again, the key word.

“I’m 45. When I was 25, I was a different person. I was a maniac. I was out of control and I would have fought anybody. And if I was Jake Paul right now, at 26 years old, and you said to me, ‘We’re going to give you someone that’s 58 years old,’ I’d have been like, ‘Oh my god. You’re going to pay me to do this? You’re going to pay me $ 40 million, whatever the price tag is, to go out there and beat up a guy like that? Oh my god.’ I would have said, ‘Stick it up your ass. Give me someone who is my age.’ Because that is not competition and that is what a true fighter would say and should say.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC’s fourth quarter for 2024 is now set.

During UFC 305 on Saturday night, the world’s leading MMA promotion announced its slate of events for the final quarter of 2024, confirming some previously reported events and revealing a few new ones as well.

Among the dates and locations confirmed for the end of 2024:

• UFC 307: Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr., set for Oct. 5 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City
• UFC Vegas 98, set for Oct. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas
• UFC Vegas 99, set for Oct. 19 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas
• UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway, set for Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi
• UFC Edmonton: Erin Blanchfield vs. Rose Namajunas, set for Nov. 2 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada
• UFC Vegas 100, set for Nov. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas
• UFC 309, set for Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City
• UFC Macau, set for No. 23 at Galaxy Arena in Macau
• UFC 310, set for Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
• UFC Tampa, set for Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL

The now revealed end-of-year schedule keeps up the routine UFC has cultivated over the past several years of doing a November pay-per-view in Madison Square Garden and then the final pay-per-view event of the year heading to Las Vegas.

No official headliners have been announced for the final two pay-per-view events yet, however UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is expected to defend his belt against Stipe Miocic atop the bill for UFC 309.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

According to UFC CEO Dana White, Sean Strickland will likely be next for Dricus du Plessis after the middleweight champ finished Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305. Will that ultimately be the fight that’s made?

On a special live edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and guest host Jed Meshew discuss what’s next for du Plessis after his first title defense, along with where Adesanya goes from his third loss in four fights. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for Kai Kara-France after his big knockout of Steve Erceg in the co-main event, along with fellow main card winners Dan Hooker, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Carlos Prates, and more.

Watch the UFC 305 edition of On To the Next One in the video above. Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Fighting really does solve everything.

Despite a heated rivalry that turned ugly on more than one past occasion, Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis put all that to bed after they battled it out in the UFC 305 main event. In the end, du Plessis came out on top with a fourth-round rear-naked choke submission to defend his UFC middleweight title, but immediately afterward he paid homage to Adesanya, calling the former two-time champ a “legend” and a future “Hall of Famer.”

After the loss, Adesanya said he may even hang out with du Plessis in the future, although that doesn’t prevent them from possibly fighting again. The only difference is Adesanya isn’t obsessed with tearing du Plessis apart like he was before they clashed on Saturday night.

“I’m not really desperate to get it back,” Adesanya said post-fight. “He gave me a lot of respect in there and I gave him his respect back. I already knew he was a fan of me. But now I’m a fan of his because we’ve been in there, we’ve done it. When I’m in South Africa, I’ll tap in with him. I said, ‘Look, we can hang out, but just so you know, when we have to fight again, I’m going to kill you.’ He’s lik,e ‘I’m going to kill you too.’ Respect is always there.

“Dricus is an African champion. But the three kings will reign supreme. That era [with Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou] right there was what set this off for people like him. He’s going to inspire another generation of African fighters as well. So congrats to him tonight. Until we meet again.”

There was a brief moment at the conclusion of the fight where it looked as if Adesanya was actually considering retirement as he removed his gloves while awaiting for his chance to speak to UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier.

Fighters removing their gloves and leaving them in the center of the cage is recognized as a symbol of retirement. Even du Plessis acknowledged it, saying, “Izzy, if you decide to retire tonight, thank you,” during his own post-fight interview.

It turns out Adesanya removing his gloves was much ado about nothing.

“People just read too much into shit,” Adesanya said. “For me, who knows what happens. Life is fleeting. Who knows what happens. [Du Plessis] might never come back if something happens. Any one of us in this room could go tomorrow. I try and take each fight, each moment as if it was my last.

“I only took the gloves off because it was tight after the fight. He’s got a strong head. I hit him with some shots so my hands were a bit, not broken, not even close, but just a little bit sore. So that’s why I took the gloves off. Nothing about retiring. No, I told you I’m not f*cking leaving. I’m not f*cking leaving until I want to leave.”

While he promises that he’s far from finished, Adesanya isn’t putting a timeline on a return for his next fight.

Because nothing is certain in life, much less the UFC, Adesanya hopes fans appreciate all of his performances, because he knows eventually the end will come.

“You’ll see me again when you see me again,” Adesanya said. “Enjoy me while I’m here because yous will miss me when I’m gone.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts