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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Israel Adesanya wants his belt back.

The two-time middleweight titleholder announced Monday that he will fight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305, which takes place at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 17 (Aug. 18 local time). This is Adesanya’s first fight since dropping the belt to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in September 2023.

See Adesanya’s announcement on social media below.

In recent interviews, du Plessis has mentioned the possibility of fighting Adesanya at UFC 305. The two have been engaged in a heated feud for the better part of the past two years, with the rivals facing off with one another inside the octagon after du Plessis scored an important win over former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July 2023.

The stars have not aligned for the two to meet in the cage just yet, with Adesanya instead going on to lose the middleweight title to Sean Strickland, and Strickland later losing the title to du Plessis. Adesanya announced he would take a hiatus from competition following his loss to Strickland and now seems set on returning less than a year after he last fought.

Du Plessis acknowledged Adesanya’s UFC 305 post in his Instagram Stories, but no official announcement has been made for the bout by du Plessis’ side nor the UFC. The championship clash would presumably serve as the headliner for the Aug. 17 pay-per-view card.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

“Control Yourself”
| BJPenn.com

UFC

In a new Instagram post, the UFC featherweight champion took the time to appreciate how awesome he was and how he never let himself down.

It’s been a long hard road to the top, and Ilia Topuria would like to thank the person who was instrumental in getting him there: Ilia Topuria.

The UFC featherweight champion wrote a glowing love letter to himself on Instagram, and we gotta say this isn’t going to help his reputation amongst critics who think “El Matador” is a little full of himself for someone who hasn’t defended their belt yet.

“Today I want to express my gratitude to this person for providing me with everything I have,” he wrote in Spanish. “For supporting me to withstand any circumstance and for never losing faith in God and in the attraction of all good things to me. Always relying on me and giving me the life I now enjoy.”

“I want to thank myself for all the times I’ve respected myself, loved myself, forgiven myself. Long live the Matador that lives inside me!”

“I will always be proud and with a smile on my face, remembering all that I have accomplished,” he finished with the hashtag #FighterForever.

Topuria has good reason to be proud: he did what many of the best featherweights in the world tried to do but failed — he beat Alexander Volkanovski via violent KO. That was in February, and we’re still waiting for news on when the German-born Georgian fighter will compete again. Will it be a rematch against Volkanovski? Or will it be Max Holloway after “Blessed” stole the show at UFC 300?

Either fight will be a tough time for the rising star, who has been embraced whole-heartedly by Spanish football royalty. Fortunately, he has Ilia Topuria to rely on, and that’s all he needs to be successful even against the toughest of odds.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

After fighting to a draw with Anderson Silva this weekend, Chael Sonnen is not planning on slowing down now as he looks to usher in the next phase of his combat sports career.

After the battle, Sonnen wasted no time before cutting a sinister promo on the mic during the post-fight media scrum. Blasting Jorge Masvidal for his foolish business practices and claiming he couldn’t remember the last time Masvidal won a fight.

Chael Sonnen Speaks on Looming Jorge Masvidal Fight

“This whole thing was just part of the process,” Chael Sonnen began, speaking on the Anderson Silva fight (H/T MMA Fighting). “I’m boxing Jorge Masvidal. I got called out for that fight, I have agreed to that fight, this was all part of the training process, and I learned some stuff tonight. Anderson, when he gets going, he tricked me a number of times, and I do not like to get tricked in there. I like to see that stuff coming. But, I mean, he would move one way and hit you with the other, he’d show you the right hand and then hit you with the left. He was very tricky and he was very fast.

“I only say that because the guy is the better part of 50. If he is tricking me to the point that he can get some of those hands on me, I’m going to have to respect Jorge Masvidal a little bit more than I wanted to.”

Despite already being booked for a fight against Nate Diaz, Masvidal and Sonnen have publically traded insults a few times now.

“Masvidal’s a little bit overrated, in all fairness, within his own mind,” Chael Sonnen said. “I can’t remember the last time that he won a fight. He gave me a threat, he said, ‘I won’t even use my right hand. I’ll put that in the contract.’ I’m like, ‘OK, stupid, put that in the contract. I didn’t ask for that, but go ahead and put that in there.’ Then he talks about, ‘I’m going to pay you $ 10 million.’ Well, I didn’t ask for $ 10 million, but again, stupid, put that in the contract. Just keep talking.

“It just keeps getting worse for Jorge Masvidal. There’s some people you play with, there’s some people you don’t; put me in the category of ‘don’t.’ Do not challenge me unless you want to fight me.”

Do you think Chael Sonnen stands a chance against Jorge Masvidal in a boxing match?

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts