Dricus Du Plessis defeated Israel Adesanya to be crowned the king of the UFC middleweight class.
The 30-year-old fighter was too strong for Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305.
In Perth, Australia, the South African finished him off in the fourth round with a choke with which he secured his first title defense.
The highly anticipated bout between Adesanya and Du Plessis had been hyped for months as ‘the battle for Africa’. Adesanya, who was born in Nigeria and raised in New Zealand, did not appreciate a series of previous comments from his opponent.
Du Plessis, who was born, raised and still lives in South Africa, said he wanted to become the first ‘true’ African UFC champion.
After three exciting and evenly matched rounds, fatigue seemed to be taking its toll on the South African.
The hard body blows from ‘Izzy’ seemed to be taking their toll, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Halfway through the fourth round, Du Plessis landed a hard left punch in one of his explosive outbursts.
The former champion was visibly shaken and was immediately pulled to the ground by his opponent.
There, the newly crowned champion quickly ended the match with a beautiful choke, which Adesanya had to tap out.
