The former two-time UFC middleweight champion will watch his old belt get defended next month.
Dricus du Plessis facing Khamzat Chimaev for the 185-pound title has been one of the most highly anticipated fights of 2025 since the start of the year.
As shown in Luke Rockhold’s prediction, many expect Chimaev to have an early advantage due to the grappling threat that he offers.
‘Borz’ is sure to be aware of the fact that the matchup may not favor him in the later rounds, with Chimaev working with a new coach for his training camp.
Having achieved incredible things in the division and faced du Plessis inside the Octagon in the past, Israel Adesanya was always going to have an interesting take on the main event of UFC 319.
Israel Adesanya picks Dricus du Plessis to finish Khamzat Chimaev late at UFC 319
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Israel Adesanya posted his live reactions to UFC 318 on July 19.
The promotion is in the middle of a strong run of PPV main events, meaning that just one month after Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight with Max Holloway, we will finally see Dricus du Plessis face Khamzat Chimaev.
UFC 319’s promo played during the main card on Saturday night, and after watching some of the build-up for the upcoming middleweight title fight, Adesanya shared his early thoughts.
Having been incredibly competitive against the current champion when they met at UFC 305 until du Plessis capitalized on a mistake to pull off a submission win in the fourth round, Adesanya knows how resilient his former opponent is.
Like many others, ‘The Last Stylebender’ believes that ‘Stillknocks’ has a better chance of winning later on in the fight and he expects the matchup to hit the deep water stage.
“Not bad, but I still think Dricus gets it. I think late finish. Yeah, late finish. I think Khamzat will, if he wins, it’s the first two rounds, or the first round. But Dricus is just chaotic. Chaotic good. Chaotic evil. That’s literally what this fight might be. Chaotic good versus chaotic evil.”
Israel Adesanya may have to wait to face the ‘only’ opponent he’s targeting
In an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show several weeks ago, Israel Adesanya revealed his preferred opponent for his return.
He wants to try to bounce back from his three-fight losing streak by facing Sean Strickland in a rematch, though his callout seemingly fell on deaf ears.
“The division’s kind of stagnant. I tried. That’s the only one I want but then he hasn’t responded.”
Unfortunately for Adesanya, Strickland may not be able to compete inside the Octagon for some time after receiving a temporary suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission following his brawl at Tuff-N-Uff 145.
The next commission hearing is on Wednesday where the suspension is expected to be extended.