Dricus Du Plessis is set to defend his belt against former champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 Perth. Watch this Full Fight …
[Applause] take the time chill chill chill that’s right we’re fine relax relax relax this is my African brother right here yes go what’s up let’s go yeah what’s up going do yeah my African brother yeah my African brother what’s up I’m African but I ain’t no brother of yours son my let’s go you my for real Darren til dret ready Darren ready fights on and Drake is dup dupi is in the green Darren till out of that pth the Southpaw stance is in white here we go kills right away on the pressure draus said to tell you Joe that if we start seeing his mouth open that’s just how he breathes he said my nose doesn’t work too good so I try to keep my mouth open to breathe look at this take down by he said he was going to show that he said the last time he tried that drop and he pulled the guy on top of him it was not indicative of what he can do in the grappling so clearly part of the early strategy D plusi taking the fight to the ground trying to make these ground strikes [Applause] count bad position for Darren till right away G’s got that left leg in tying him up this is terrible for Darren till and he’s eating left hands he’s talking to Mark Smith yeah saying he’s okay but he’s got to do he’s getting hammered dupy has the right arm that’s why he’s having trouble getting up but till keeps going back down to the ground I don’t know if he’s trying not to get KN but right now he needs to explode up if he wants a chance cuz Mark Smith’s getting very close to stopping fight perhaps a little bit too close for I don’t think he should be ready to stop it yet though John Till wasting energy trying to give him a thumbs up doesn’t appear as though a lot of these strikes have gotten home cly but why does he keep putting the right knee down yeah Darren till it appears that he’s just being patient and looking for the right opportunity to get back up to his feet but this is not a good position for him at all no and he’s not offering much resistance he’s got a hand fight right he’s trying to get up without hand fight and draus is just hitting in with hammers here this is at the very least Darren till is going compromise by these big shots now these left hands are getting through with some Force I mean say he’s good he’s got to stop talking to Mark Smith and get out of this position his right he can’t C his right hand well Dre did a great job of tying it up and now he’s hitting with right I mean honestly all over Jaren T’s blocking a lot of these though Joe but why is T so patient he needs to try to skirt his back along the side of the Octagon to try and change a position as dra goes right back to a single leg oh dup C on top of him Darren Tils a terrible place now he’s almost got the body triangle in he’s got it locked now he’s got the body triangle in from the back this is terrible and they’re controlling that left wrist as well but the amount of blows that Darren is absorbing I mean even if he gets out of this position he’s going to be compromised he’s eaten dozens of clean punches oh now dup’s getting dup’s under the neck Darren till is really in a bad place here he’s got his chin down D would be better Ser to just punch because Mark Smith seems like he’s about ready to stop this fight from punching dupy might have worn his arms out for punching Darren T’s in a terrible position here that left eye is nearly swollen shut yeah I mean he’s been beaten and battered already under seconds now it hasn’t gotten anything off yet all dupy on his back with the body triangle huge round for dup so far nine career wins by submission for dupi coming in look the strike count 60 shots landed by dupy zero for Darren till that’s crazy but Joe look at this by engaging in the grappling dup has now started to it it this would allow Darren to take less damage in the punch he should have continued to let him get to his knees to just drive those lefts that he was Landing before he could have stopped him but the Way’s switching is oh oh look at this Darren Ta on top out Darren’s got a headlock he’s got a G oh he lost it and the scramble back to their feet crowd going bananas is still rises 30 seconds to go in the round left hand landed by till looked like maybe even an elbow got home nice jab by dupy settles things for a moment Big Shots by Darren oh Darren t d plusy forced to scramble late in round one another late taked down for draus dupi what a start all right guys second round fight round two is upon us dupy and green till and white dupy look very tired in between rounds I know he said that this is how he breeded but one thing about Drake is though he will fight you man you start trying to engage with him like this and try to make it a barn burner he’ll throw his hand and he’ll throw everything with absolute power to try to finish you as T starting to press now nasty swelling on the left eye of Darren till we’re seeing it here he’s definitely going to have a hard time seeing out of that left eye dup’s body language though leaving a little bit to be desired I mean he really emptied the gas tank here he’s got to recover I mean you see the the slowness to the punches think about how many shots he threw in that round how much grappling he did well Draco said that is just how he breath but I mean he does look tired but he really tried to stop Darren till in that round oh he got Pok all right hey just be careful watch fingers you good F said he’s fine yeah could have taking a little breather there instead fights on so you must feel pretty good I think he’s just a warrior I mean because he is very tired here you seed in his movements his footsteps everything oh oh my goodness that was a nice elbow in there Darren looks nice and loose on the outside beautiful desperation shot but duple he gets him down the Darren separating the hand hands Till’s going to the wizard there now he’s got to try to clear the hips to face dupi but dupi is so strong oh beautiful job of the butterfly Darren till but till stops there yes he he had to keep going there he can’t stop he’s fighting the hands to try to stand back up and he’s up knee by dup C but not much on it till sucks him off under three minutes here in round two [Music] switching up his footwork here darrant has a beautiful straight left hand and that was what his Corner was calling for in between rounds set him up for that left straight pretty wild pace through a round and a half we’ll see who can sustain well dupy’s got to recover cuz Darren looks much the fresher fighter [Applause] here still starting to pick him apart this where dupy’s got to be careful he doesn’t do that Blitz yep he can’t get desperate he said I cannot get desperate even when things start to go a little sideways I’ve got to stay Within Myself Dar is setting him up I mean he’s lining him up for that left hand and draus is just standing still T should go to the body do he’s head hunting right now because dup bringing his hands way high she throw that straight left to the body you hear the corner call for elbow Over the Top by Darren watch Watchers really labor movments from dupi and yet but he gets it anyway Darren made a real mistake there now if dra draus has got to let his hands go till has fought a fantastic round it looked like he winant pain there for a second yeah when he went back over that maybe his knee he’s had a lot of knee issues left knee got caught behind him for a moment Dr is about to get up position if he tries this Guillo tee he’s going to lose his position til should start to get the feet on the hips to try to push him away man dlex he just trying to pull his way in dupy looking for a foot lock Darren’s trying to roll out of it wow right third and final round seemingly anybody’s fight I got this very well could be one and one but then you have to think about that first round was that a 10 eight round oh yeah but if draus draus did a really good job of finishing that round getting that Tak down to trying to change momentum a little bit it’ll be on till now to set the pace to the third round and get started in a way that he started round number two he fought a beautiful four minutes but didn’t almost seem to accept being on his back when draus was able to take him down do you think a 108 would be warranted for that first round I do I I I it was sustained till did have moments in the end but I mean he got beat up really bad to the point that the official tried to stop the fight which I don’t agree with but he was stepping in as if the fight was supposed to be an ended the 3DS dominance duration damage not enough for me in that first round yeah I I mean I would not be mad if it’s 108 but I wouldn’t be upset if they went 109 but all those things you just listed Johnny had every one of them he [Applause] did D plus he Prides himself on his heart having a dig deep here tonight good body attack from dup dup is a very tough guy good left hand over the [Applause] topoo look at that [Applause] [Applause] jab he caught that one low he’s all right are you good yeah I’m good hey just watch the cup all right are you good to fight yeah all right Tom here fight watch the cop drinkers all right back underway just over 3 minutes to go T’s got to pick the pace up yep like that because Drake is landed a couple nice shots to start this round seems as though he’s gotten some respect back in the stand up from Darren til seeing things well defensively here late in the fight oh beautiful jab and that’s what Drake has talked about right Joe not rushing and when he doesn’t Rush he’s he’s landing and so is till though Till’s just kind of poking at him with that jab oh run in the mou look at that oh and a big right hand greets till when he gets to the floor that’s a huge moment for dupy there’s the just like that Drake is dup for it on the UFC and coming to the top 10 next week and that’s a tough loss for Darren till right there well the ground proven to be the Kryptonite for Darren till tonight was unable to thwart a single takedown attempt of D plus C and once it’s official it’ll be his 10th career win by submission and here’s the final take down let’s take a look at it here not much resistance it goes slides right in the mount lands a couple of good shots Darren turns over and gives his back dupy goes right under the chin secures the tap dupy did this in round one Darren was able to defend it not in round three noted though when Darren till went to sit he did something a little odd with his knee like he might have hurt himself again in the fight there was an ACL repair in the right knee of Darren till perhaps injur the left knee in this fight nice to see those guys bury the hatchet so to speak Dy really seemed like he was trying to occupy some space inside the head of Darren until this week but he gets it done just as he expected to and the winning streak is extended to six for the former two division EFC Champion draus dupi now a buding UFC middleweight Contender to make it official Joel here’s Bruce Buffer ladies and gentlemen referee Mark Smith is called a stop to this contest at 2 minutes 43 seconds of round number three declaring the winner by submission due to a rear nak and choke draus [Applause] stillo you ready the champion and the favorite aroundus 175 Alo Costa is in Gray Israel aagna is in the black and gold be fitting a champion strong leg kick from Izzy to start Costa waves him on both men just so comfortable in a fight some early leg attacks for Israel adna yeah and that’s that’s what Izzy’s going to do he’s going to be smart and he’s going to try to let Costa fall on his own sword and Rush In And then he’ll look to counter with some of his stri but right now he’s smart he’ll pick from the outside he’ll attack that leg and it’s interesting to hear adna’s teammates and coaches talk about how much better he’s getting in terms of his strikes and putting some power behind them you know about the kickboxing credentials and now 19 and0 in his mixed martial arts career Costa attacks that lead leg of about a sun osna pretty effective with those early low leg kicks about a minute gone by here in round one nice body kick lands for the Brazilian w looked like that was close to the solar plexus there beautiful body kick from Costa and I’ve said that in the lead Costa’s got underrated kicks he but is he doing a really good job of already chopping that lead leg of Pao Costa and Costa acknowledge that latest offering from Adan you think about checking some of those Point yeah I yeah I would I wouldn’t even want to check it I just wouldn’t want to be there as you see he’s he’s precise with it he’s hitting that same exact spot right on the knee every time osna put money in the bank early you already see the redness body kick from Costa and counter right from like ca was able to avoid that switch kick offering forna osna super efficient here early on not all surprised to see these two combatants drawing back and forth Costa going hands behind his back earlier than I expected not to be recommended but uh you know left kick is sneaky there and this is the patience I think we’re talking about John from Costa he’s not rushing in cuz he knows is he so well so good at countering sitting back and waiting for you to rush in Romero under two minutes here to go in this round in oisan his last defense against yel Romero he was surprised to see Romero sort of flat footed standing there not doing much already nine leg kicks have landed for the incumbent you might have checked that last one but those other ones are getting through they’re doing damage even the C is playing it off does not mean they’re they’re not affecting him CA closes the distance quickly there appear to partially [Music] land and again adna putting in good work on that lead leg of Costa you see all the cupping on ca’s legs already he going after them he’s not an idiot he sees a weakness he’s going to come after and that’s the safest bet right now especially early in the first round when C is fresh chip at the legs wear him [Applause] down aagna in and out standing striking flow early moving brilliantly first clinch situation doesn’t last very long man is he looking really sharp here Landing those leg kicks sitting back just seven total strike attempts now eight for pao Costa yeah not not his Norm you normally very busy with his strikes but this does dub tail with what he said to us in our fighter meeting no need to to be anxious or fast early 5 minutes down round one for the champion 22 of 37 un officially on a significant strikes in round one here we go round two starting to really get red on that leg that lead leg of pooll Costa just ooh look at the bruising too and that last one going to help matters you wonder yeah it’s like you can see each impact where it was landing and which ones like lower Shin mid Shin knee of where Israel is landing each one of those kicks osna appeared an inch away from Landing that head kick Costa did not necessarily think so the poker face strong from paoc Costa but he’s not Landing anything yet he’s got to close this distance he’s got to let his hands go there’s a nice leg kick there’s another one but no no boxing so far really from from [Music] po yeah look at that leg and he’s attacked the inside quite a few times now as well really mixing it up and and for Israel he could do that all day he can sit out here all day and attack those legs head kick appear to partially land the gamesmanship continues from Palo Costa 90 seconds gone by round two Costa still moving pretty well but do not want to eat too many more of those got to think they were expectant that Izzy was going to attack in that way I mean 20 leg kicks look at that 20 leg kicks landed from and of course yeah of course it was expected but at some point you’ve got to try to address it you’ve got to you’ve got to go for it right and I and I’m not saying that’s easy to do especially when you’re facing such a diverse striker in Israel aagna but at some point there’s a beautiful body kick there’s another one o left hand switch stance there from adna he’s just so smooth not even open his mouth to breathe at all here almost Midway through the second round looking fantastic yep fighting a near perfect fight and right after the main event don’t miss a recap of all the action on the UFC fight night or 253 post I should say it’s on ESPN plus Paul Megan Angela Hill BR and Fitzgerald break it all down right after the main event it’s only on ESPN plus oh that c one certainly appeared to land but Costa was able to eat [Music] it yeah this is not looking good for paloc Costa he’s getting picked apart here in this fight and it looked like that head kick opened up a cut in and around that right eyebrow of Costa eats a jab there from osna who is firing on all cylinders tonight that ganship is slowing down a bit John you are right about that under two minutes here in round two and now osna attacks the inside of that right leg that leg is that leg is trash absolute trash Costa’s got to commit John if he wants to stay in this fight cuz Izzy will do this from the outside for the rest of this fight if he has to if he doesn’t catch him in the but now since he’s been attacking the legs so much Izzy can afford himself now to take risks and start going upstairs because now he’s got C his attention so much and then he’s out and then he’s going to go to the leg again oh knock down for Anna trying to [Applause] recover that is it still Undisputed quick Knight at the office for the champion Israel arisna too easy too easy he’s too good wow I mean you look at paasa you think oh he’s got to go on with these dangerous strikes and I know you’re mad camera I know you’re mad but hey Auckland w Ro of vasos City he has left Anderson Silva Kelvin Gastelum Robert Whitaker yel Romero and now Pao Costa in his wake he wants to fight all of the most imposing figures that meant Pao Costa and man did he dispose of that top Contender properly tonight I mean with ease John with ease he made that look easy the leg kicks and then what I say what did I say I said he’s going to start chewing those legs apart and he’s going to find his opportunity to go back upstairs lands those head kicks lands those punches and then when he has you hurt man the elbows from the top raining down strikes and just beautiful work this is just beautiful work here boom right off the Dome I don’t know how Costa ate that one split him over though and at this point his legs are gone I mean he was trying to put on a good poker face but his legs were Trashed by Israel asagna here look at that slip boom there’s that slide back left hand right off the temple drops him and Israel goes in for the kill starts smashing him with hammer fist very similar to the Finish against Robert Whitaker here in the way that they end up in this awkward position ends up getting Mount though and you see you see how badly he wants to land those elbows with all the trash talk all the smack talk that’s been happening let’s take a look at the corners Eugene as his team losing their minds on that ladies and gentlemen referee Jason Herzog has called a stop to this contest at 3 minutes 59 seconds of the second round declaring the winner by TKO and still the Undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the world Israel the last style Bender an fastest man in the world baby UFC middleweight champ Israel adna has kept a low profile a little bit this week but he is likely the most interested Observer watching octagon side tonight Drake his dupc the plus 265 Underdog tonight taken on that man the credentialed Roberts Whitaker dupy in green with ier is in Black here we go we brought this up before but we should bring it up again dupy had his nose fixed and it’s a huge factor in this fight his nose has been blocked up most of his career he couldn’t breathe out of it at all now he got that fixed improvements in cardio going to be huge for what he has done in the UFC without the ability to breath hat off Drake is duplex C when you talk about the reaper Robert Whitaker you talk about a guy that if not for Israel adna we would be talking about him in historic return cuz he would have had that belt for almost 10 years at this point he’s beating everybody else let’s see if he can continue that tonight against a very game and confident dup nice jab at a right hand from Robert Whitaker that’s what I was talking about about the outside Robert Whitaker is so good with that style that wide stance staying on the outside and blitzing forward notice what Robert doing when dup go south he tries to enter Robert doesn’t throw a jab Robert leads with the right hand and splits the guard of dup C when dup Southpaw when he goes to his Blitz Rob throws that straight right hand as his first punch and Robert keeps his hands low so those punches come from weird angles that Whitaker jab leading the dance early the Robert Whitaker left hook is one of his best shots I have seen him finish countless fights with that left [Applause] hook dupy has such an odd style the way he moves it’s difficult to gauge cuz it’s awkward but it’s very effective It’s very effective it may be an orthodox it may not be traditional great T down oh he’s got a no step right over it jump to the opposite side beautiful job by Rob great counter didn’t play in the guard or anything [Applause] keep good to see back up to his feet nicely done great job by Drake is’s using that Guillotine to help him get back to his feet Ed the wall beautifully to get back up Whitaker gives him another thing to think about know what that take down dra is fighting at a really high Pace we have cross the midpoint of round one Dean Thomas what he have yeah beautiful job by Whitaker to get that Tak down not only does d preses have to think about that but for Wier he got his hands on him and sometimes when you’re fighting an awkward guy you need to get your hands on him so you can feel him and not only have to try to time what they’re doing but being able to feel him is very helpful keep moving [Applause] stay boys good knee up the middle by duple C D is absolutely massive at middle good low kick there and a pretty good right hand on the back end for dup dup’s activity is really starting to put him ahead in this round he’s doing a really good job Whitaker’s been much cleaner but duple has been very active real good job there Landing that calf kick in that tight exchange now I see right you see the game plan at dup is going to be overwhelmed Robert Whitaker he recognizes and understands technically yep he gets to the headlock there beautiful great job by Dr there looking for a darts oh big elbow from DUI there great job by Dr dupy there landed the elbow that cut Robert Whitaker good grounding oh did he cut him yep you’ll be able to see it well he talked a lot in our fighter meeting about his physic ality and he’s very big for 185 when you stand next to him you can’t believe that he make the waight oh pass the guard nicely done beautiful job looking for the DAR again yep Drake is jumping on that Dar show CCH trying to cinch it up good elbow big round dra is dupc this is huge absolutely huge and that is how you leave an impression on the judge es what a close to the round by [Applause] D prevailing thought as the winner of this fight could challenge Israel aania 9 weeks from now at UFC 293 you can argue that cut on Whitaker might already take him out of a fight 9 minutes from me good low kick there by D C oh kick Whit that’s a great combination from Robert he throws that right kick off the right hand [Applause] Whitaker enters D plus C kind of takes the high guard waits he good Whitaker to kind of extend those combinations there they get back to space great first round by good start [Applause] to beautiful jab I do proceive from the south [Applause] you see has been very responsible with his defensive guard from the opening seconds of the [Applause] fight good left hook for Whitaker there caught Dy good start to the round great response so far by Whitaker but he’s going to have to keep it up will not slow down he sted b h oh now no leg kick d got rid of all oh Gooding on the South African you believe it Drake is 2 plus eight CS his shot and St wi front wow wow what a performance by Drake is dup there is no doubting the South African now 6 and0 punctuates the winning streak by stopping Robert Whitaker as he said inside of two rounds title fight next WoW and he wants Izzy bad he is willing to turn around look at Izzy the Champions is staring him down he comes over to shake hands with Donald Trump congratulations great fight while the verion Robert Whitaker the drest dup he just beat is the version that Robert Whitaker has suggested is the best version he has presented today I would say it’s the best too but this guy is a tank he’s a real dangerous guy and to do that against a guy like Whitaker that is a big wake up call for the middleweight division anybody that doubted dra dup SE doubts him no more no this kid and he’s got a style that might just be unorthodox enough to give a middleweight champion a lot of issues great right hand that stuns Robert Whitaker you can see right away Rob was hurt bad he’s like staggering and it was only a matter of time before dup he went and got him you don’t see this happen to Rober Whitaker very often he goes down very rarely and look at that body shot oh my goodness y the wherewithal not just go head hunting by duple see he went to the body right up under the elbow drops Whitaker jumps on him and gets the finish what a performance by dra’s dup C and he told us in the fighter meeting I want to be the guy on the poster right drus dupi is going to be on the poster and Israel adanna was hopeful for this result here tonight absolutely incredible and if Drake is to plusy fights Robert Whitaker and Israel in a span of nine weeks and actually beats both of them might be the greatest accomplishment in mixed martial arts history but let us not get ahead of ourselves what a moment for South African MMA for draus dupi whose winning streak is now eight none bigger than that one to make it official here’s Bruce ladies and gentlemen referee Mark honter call us off to this contest at 2 minutes 23 seconds of the second round declaring the winner by TK draus still knock [Applause] D I’m here with the winner ladies and gentlemen draus dupy there can be no doubts now sir anybody who doubted you in the past that’s all gone you just beat one of the top middleweights on the planet Earth a former champion and you did it exactly as you as it you predicted it absolutely can you see how out of breath I am I guess I did some a few running regimes this whole Camp I’m lying I told you I have cardio for days and secondly you go have about two by two hours to go delete a whole lot of comments cuz I’m Coming For That social media media trus this was a huge moment for you and I want you to enjoy it but I want you to take a big a look at the big screen and talk us through this you stunned him with the right hand you had him rocked give us your thoughts what was going through your mind you know to be honest as I dropped him he threw his own left hook and I just went to duck under it so I didn’t even see it next thing I saw was his hands on the canvas and I wanted to just rush but we all know I have a problem with that so I was like just stay calm stay calm and you know I saw the fight with Canon with all the fighters he’s had that as they turn Southport that’s why you’ll see I came out southp tonight the jab right jab really catches him and as that happened you know I saw them the beginning of the end and you know Robert W Dam he hits hard and he hits so fast and this is truly the biggest honor of my whole fighting career being able to share the cuge with the legend a guy that I had to fight his poster of in my room wishing to be like someday Robert I don’t know where he is but he’s a gentleman a humble man and he is truly a legend of this Sport and I just beat a guy in Bound for bound rankings you certainly did Sir and that earns you a spot at the very top of the mountain and the man you will face next is standing to your right the great Israel adna yeah I don’t know about right take your time chill chill chill that’s all right we’re fine relax relax relax let’s this is my African brother right here let’s go what’s up let’s go what’s up going to do yeah my African brother yeah my African brother what’s up I’m African but I ain’t no brother of yours son let’s go you my for real I’ll show you so what are you saying to everybody in New Zealand what are you saying I’ll tell you one thing yo I don’t need a DNA test I don’t need a 36 and me to know where I’m from you you don’t even if I do a 26 and me they say I’m from Nigeria do a 26 and me DNA test it’ll tell you where you’re from I will show you where you’re from draus this is obviously a massive opportunity for you but away from all the trash talk give me your thoughts on this fight and absolutely this that’s what it is it’s an easy fight it’s easy money I manifested this I said I was going to have this moment and I know I’m going to have this moment look at me hey stof just say look come here come here come here just feel just feel me feel me ladies and gentlemen we got a world title fight congratulations to draus dupy chapter 2/ chapter 4 begins now Israel adna is in the blue Alex poda is in the green and gold or so it appears we’ll call it black and gold I wonder how fast edisa will start start the hit it right away goes right back to that outside leg kick found a lot of success with this early in the last [Applause] fight Iz he had a real problem with that cap kick compromised his leg after the first round he’s got to be very aware of that this round particularly since paa opened up with it good C kick Low by adna early on pah said he didn’t feel much difference in adna from when they were kickboxing but we have seen a guy that’s evolved so much over the course of his mixed martial arts career and it’s crazy to say there are still a lot of unknowns to P because he’s so early in his UFC career sure another CF kick lands and there he lands one of his own put told us he was able to Grapple a lot more during this training camp Bears watching as to how much he might try to use that part of his game that’s one of the things every time I see Alex I grab his leg to see if he’s working on the wrestling honestly he feels so strong in that position lands another outside [Applause] kick is he circling away from that power left of Poa not to say he doesn’t have a brick in that right hand either two more hard low kicks landed posture his presence is very intimidating in there he stands very tall and he’s just really big so he’s constantly kind of in your space never allowing you to feel comfortable [Applause] K the he throws those kicks with no Telegram and he doesn’t even put his full body way into him he doesn’t turn the hips over that’s one of the reasons why he lands him so well cuz you don’t see the shift in his shoulders one of the things about that right hand that Izzy landed at the end of the first round that hurt FAA he was fainting Jabs throwing him on that one he threw it out there and he left it there just like that and he followed it with the right hand once he had figured for his range P to the body then attach that lead leg Ofna is he FS is he keeps popping those paints at him trying to get him to stop moving forward is trying to get closer [Applause] now good body attack all these strikes man such highle kickboxing Techni neither one of them showing each other when the kick or the punch is coming another hard L kick beautiful body kick lands for adna now is he has an angry look in his face he does he’s very locked in and that has sort of mirrored his look for much of the week another C kick landed he’s already taken too many of those C kicks he knew that he had to address that [Applause] [Music] [Applause] last St bner continues to attack that body of Pera here under a minute to go round one and doing it from the Southpaw stance so changing up the way or the stance that he’s attacking for hay in good left hand Connection by adisan so it appeared ha seemed to lean out of the way that one I he caught him on the arms but just leaning back would not seem to be the best way to avoid the strikes of Israel ass he will make a read to try to get to you but to this point very competitive round as we always expect when we see these two another hard low kick to that c and is he in the Orthodox position has got a light front leg to try to check that but p is so good at hiding it well P has done such a good job of beating up that leg already follow the champion Alex P to the corner Isel outside just acknowledging his focus and the brevity of those five minutes and Alex peda just brewing with confidence after what he got done over those first 300 and he was saying he’s already gotten to that leg which was obviously a big part of his strategy because he was so successful with it in the first fight izy said that 5 minutes felt fast Alex paa was very vocal in his Corner telling those guys I I’m moving away from the right hand I’m getting a lot done right now you’re right John just I mean so much confidence and why wouldn’t he be he landed a lot of good shots in that first round Iz he tries a question mark kick front kick up the middle oh almost got hit with a head kick this is a scary P when it closes the distance oh jab to the body and the right hand up top oh oh my goodness is he’s got to be careful Oh Land to the left beautiful left hook there by P Iz he took it well though adna needs to control these changes he should not just be throwing with paa and he’s got to stay off the cage oh nice jab by adanna now he lands a big [Applause] right and the thing about fight one p seemed to fatigue but we got to remember that was the first time he went five rounds and dealt with all of that adversity in round one p landing at a 63% clip early 31% for Izzy he’s attacking that right leg as well that Cal and you see how defensively sound par is as well very much a present through seven minutes the good left hand for adisan gets through nice jab P you see the difference in the power and the crowd reaction right under three minutes here round two well everyone’s aware of the consequences in this guy Land good right hand by Izzy I he’s much more forward in this fight than he normally is he recognizes that that he can’t be going backwards with this guy he’s too good at setting traps and when he sets his trap he just lets his hands go he’s taking a lot of calf kicks on that right leg as well [Music] now good inside low kick that one was heavy for adna [Applause] [Applause] ooh they got 10na osna decided there you could tell he decided to stay in the pocket there for a brief moment M put his guard up high and winged him he’s looking for that right hand that he had success with in the first fight the end of the first round p seems very hip to it right now though nice com body there’s that low kick again it’s so heavy even though it’s coming off the front leg oh there that right hand but P roll with [Applause] it what doing it’s easy to draw around falling for falling for everything El [Applause] now pus stalking here late in the round there’s that that one hurt him that one hurt him you saw him buckle with that low kick he’s going to limit him to Southpaw again so D [Applause] goodness he got him back B he got him can finally look win over Alex pada who’s at go wow he did my goodness he got him bad oh my goodness oh my goodness wow oh my goodness Alex beaded did not respect the power coming back in his way and he paid for it oh my goodness it seemed when you got some inside information from the aagna folks that they were going to try to turn that aggression around on poda mission accomplished for the last style Bender that might be one of the greatest Kos I’ve ever seen in my life well he looked like his leg was hurt he was fading P saw it and just started to let everything go and Izzy put him out wow woo what a knockout what a way to regain your championship and find finally break through in a series where you were way behind well he should have won the first kickboxing yes the second kickboxing fight he had P badly hurt they gave p a standing a count saved him the third fight MMA P stops him the fourth fight is he shot the lights out let’s take a look at it again he gets hit with that low kick covers up P’s moving in boom C is a boom again right hand and then hammerfist out cold wow let’s look at it again hands down just teing off on him bang look at that right hand bang again left fo behind it out cold hammerfist and style Bender regains the Midway championship of the world and reestablishes himself as one of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time and aagna it’s over just went over almost fell a just went to acknowledge and he he shot him with an arrow look at this look at this because there’s a lot to this rivalry Joe I threw my hands up somebody stop the fight it’s over Anna went over to acknowledge the Alex peda corner and camp but you talk about Waiting to Exhale right first kickboxing meeting with between these men 2016 the second in 2017 it crossed into mixed martial arts last year and aagna finally seven years into this rivalry can lay claim to a win against poana that was impressive John he said that this would not take long for him hey ladies and gentlemen referee Dan mle has g a stop to this contest at 4 minutes 21 seconds of round number two declaring the winner by not and new you the world isra is sure you understand the rules you’re fighting to keep yourself protected listen to me at all times if I say stop you stop if you want to touch do it now God bless what a matchup it is here in Toronto for the Undisputed UFC middleweight Championship a 6-0 UFC start has afforded draus dupi the opportunity to challenge for the world title Shan Strickland is the hunted and trying to successfully defend and produce his 16th win Drake his dupy is in green Shan Strickland in the black and gold befitting a champion I really do believe this fight is going to show how good these guys really [Applause] [Music] [Applause] are and that’s what DC always does he starts the legs and then connects his hands to the legs nice kick came Qui Canadians seemingly love strickman as much as the Aussies nice kick to the body there by the champ he uses those te kicks the same as he uses his jab to get his range and his rhythm and he keeps things right where he wants to from the T kick to the inside kick to the jab those are his rang finders trickly and when he keeps the range and forces you to work your way inside do [Applause] Strickland pumping out that jab early good check right on the knee for that one good defense neither connected Jabs are connecting for stri right now very early though fast Jab [Applause] public opinion seemed to suggest pre-fight that if Strickland could weather an early storm a long fight would favor him drus dupi has never fought into a fourth round in his UFC career or previous fights in [Applause] MMA see he checks that so nice yeah that’s why Edna stopped kicking he just kept checking [Applause] that’s not normally the case for the guys in such an upright boxing stance I mean you got to think of because he’s so upright because he Jabs so much imagine how many people are trying to attack his lead leg he’s just got a lot of reps in his stance in his position o last two play’s best kick he uses that so well and he usually attacks the C kick first to set that up and then goes High later on but Strickland’s just stopping the cap kak nice kick yep head kick got through for dupi we have crossed the midp point around one second time that’s gotten through cut on the bridge of the nose of the South African all those [Applause] Jabs it’s just a long laser that jab strictly he just once he beats that hand fight he goes right through with good job defensively there by Strickland notice every time Strickland starts to go backwards though he lifts his shoulder and he checked another one he checked everyone so far I think D has got to be a little bit more straight with his his jab he’s got to start to throw the jab with strickler’s jab not that the overhand right Sean does a good job of hiding behind his shoulder he’s got a jab with AR thr mortal kicks nice shot from D that was a great shot beautiful shot by dra he’s got his hands locked put him down great job by Duke and this is what makes him different he’s con out the takedowns you won’t see Strickland go for a lot of takedowns but that’s another wrinkle another thing that Strickland’s going to have to think about when he fights this man that he didn’t have to think about about a right is so big and physical that sean gets back to his feet drers puts him right back down coach team Thomas what he have sir yeah absolutely that take down could have been a game changer cuz now if Strickland if he does another one like that Strickland might have to change his stance because he stands so tall but that opens up the double leg for dup plus C so if he wants to change his stance he might want to lower his stance a little bit to be able to fight off that double leg big welt underneath the right eye of dupi and despite the two take Downs just about 19 seconds of ground time for dupi so good sign for Strickland getting up right quickly that jab is just eating him up man and what’s crazy about that jab thisas you usually don’t use a lot of Jabs against the South PW but he’s getting it through every time that kick dup is real nice yeah lunging jab lands for Dy and he threw that one with Sean oh oh P quite late in the round from Strickland already great oh I get the list of all the corner men and women before the fights Alex P was not initially on the corner sheet for Shan Strickland the light heavyweight champion is in the corner of the middleweight champion tonight in Toronto hey this elect P has been getting treated like a king all week here he is a [Applause] king dupy loads up on the right hand stricklin [Applause] VES Sean Strickland does a great job of checking kicks man yeah just defensively all around and you can only throw so many before you don’t feel like battering your to somebody else’s every time High lunging left for dupi not a ton on it spinning back fist lands that was a good read you got to hit Strickland with something different because he’s used to the conventional attacks he leaves his hands out and then leans back that t kick is very nice that’s landed a lot that does a lot more damage than it looks like when it touches you in the gut like that dupi knew that he could didn’t let Strickland walk him to the back of the O he had to stay in the center to this point he has done that but he’s got to get his offense going more kicks from duples see and Strickland has to just stay the course he’s fighting beautiful right now that jab is just peppering draus there’s the faint draus said I have to faint and get him to react to the faints and then I can maybe land my kicks and my punches and so you saw him doubling up on the faints and that’s what’s going to help him with dealing with Strickland’s jab he’s got to pull it out by fainting three minute Mark of round two inside leg kick for strickman and then immediately ready to check the return shot from dupi I slow you down I slow you down Strickland spars late in the training camp looked like dupi landed a leg kick there but just so comfortable in combat because Sean Strickland’s leaning back now to evade the strikes of duples when he blitzes he should think about level changing into a double leg Strickland’s hips are there for him to attack that’s how he got the first one DC yeah yeah and that’s also how P to land in the left hook because stricken leans back that’s where the left hook landed minutes minutes strick just checked the inside kick with the back leg that’s R too you don’t see that a lot that’s just good leg defense there dupy loads up on a left hand again out of range body shots are both there though I think that’s the key for duplicity is keep ripping the body to set up the shots cuz he leans back and his hands are high he doesn’t really guard his body too much the head moves but the body’s there to be hit [Applause] yeah good right hand for dupi he’s getting closer and closer oh there’s a body kick good combo boxing and then finish with the kick dra draus is getting much closer with that overhand down yeah he’s getting closer each round he’s making adjustments remember he’s got high level kickboxing since he’s 19 years old faced some of the best strikers so he knows what this looks like he’s seen this stuff big left hand a moment ago from dupi let us check in with Eric nixi in the extreme cotour Corner head on the jab get your team going up up up stand up minute up up that was a Tak down by dupy grabb the high crotch back to the cage don’t let him circle to the back step up that left hook of dupy cut on stripper yeah he made that adjustment you said though he waited for the lean on the punches and shot took that single leg shot from there [Applause] DC you hear that when it lands bone on [Applause] bone double jab land and dup’s left eye now is starting to close we’ll keep an eye on that that is some significant swelling for the South African that was a much better round by dupet C in round two much better second round well Sean Strickland prior in his UFC middleweight career had only been taken down one time three takedowns on four attempts for Drake’s duples here tonight but that left eye could become a real problem Eric nixi was caught telling Sean Strickland it is time to turn up the heat round three of a possible five to decide the UFC middleway [Applause] TI the one thing that’s way different for DL SE so far as he hasn’t landed any low kicks like he usually does to set up his hands so now he’s forced to throw body kicks or high kicks it’s the third time that’s landed for him but he usually sets his boxing up in his blitzes off the kicks since Strickland’s not giving him the kicks he’s not blitzing so it’s harder for him to [Applause] land Strickland Jab it’s the guard of dupi dupi In Perpetual Forward Motion nice low leg kick there so it appeared followed it up with the right hand up top yeah DDP is doing a great job not staying on the back foot following his game plan consistently attacking the legs even though he’s getting checked and just keeping the momentum forward keeping Strickland on his heel you have to do this to Strickland if you let Strickland start moving forward he gets ahead [Applause] fast duplex is constantly one that’s advancing he said it was so important for him not to allow for Sean to be the one that dictated he has not allow for that to happen yet now because of that he has taken a number of Jabs in his his face is starting to swell but as the fight is going on he’s doing much better in actually reaching Strickland on some of his strikes [Applause] and certainly a lot of his misses are pronounced and they’re big but he’s okay with that right he is a finisher of the highest order constantly throwing different speed and Tempo and Direction with his strikes he’s gone to the spinning back fist five or six times tonight landed one of them and Sh is fighting behind his jab beautifully but he’s got to start popping that jab double double jab sometimes if you’re strickling he can’t just try to put one on draus duplex because now draus has seen it and draus will try to overwhelm you with activity so Sean’s got to keep up with him a little bit he’s much more accurate he’s probably Landing more than dup C but draus is constantly just putting something out there right not quite as much offense being thrown by Strickland here round three if it goes to the scorecards remember it’s going to be about damage and right now dup’s face looks a little bit more damag than strick [Music] [Applause] under two minutes to go dupi drops down and lands a left hand judges really are supposed to give credit for the damage sustained in that round and not look at the visual as some sort of marker for the entire fight what if there’s a cut well the cut was it it happened in the round so it’s scored in that round it’s not scored perpetually as the fight goes on you know yeah but we’ve seen scorecards all over the place tonight so close fight here as we come up on about a minute to go round three you know Drake dupy is pressuring now but he’s not finding as much there it is strick put two Jabs on him there as he was evading now draus there it is draus with a blitz he’s getting closer and closer little bit of a telegraph there with that high kick and I think that that’s going to happen as he starts to the fight gets longer because naturally you will fatigue a little bit out point but still man on the pressure and John I mean Drake has talked about his nose getting fixed yeah his cardio looks fantastic it really does could it really be just one thing like that no it’s not all that he actually was somewhat dismissive of that as this overwhelming angle to his improved cardio but he’s 15 seconds away from realizing a fourth round for the first time as an MMA Pro here in his 20 third Pro fight looks pretty fresh here and these are very close [Applause] rounds it did appear as though Strickland’s Pace waned in that third round oh nice left hook there by Sean all right we have arrived at the championship rounds the dupe Corner suggesting that Strickland is a little bit fatigued the mid- round visuals perhaps would suggest otherwise but dupi certainly would appear to have a lot of energy you might have heard the corner suggest a possible take down if the opportunity presents itself and you know he was the corner saying that he’s tired but they’ve been saying that since round one but the strickling corner wants him to pick it up they think that he can actually drown draus now that we’re getting into the championship rounds yeah cuz he keeps a such a good Pace with just jabbing and jabbing and letting two playc use his oxygen by keeping offensive and then just not using better defense to stay safe in the second two rounds we’ll see if he can keep the pace up that was a big overhand that overhand is getting closer and closer you heard Eric Nix say I don’t like that round he did not like round three from Sean Strickland he wants more activity from him that was a nice elbow that I think it cut him I thought it might have been the right hand prior but you could be right Strickland Tak down defense held up there nice very nice elbow at the end of that combo oh I like that right hand got the South Africans [Applause] attention oh nice body kick your [Applause] yes that right hand finding its Mark in round four for Strickland [Applause] [Applause] stricklin doubling up on these significant head strikes [Applause] landed dupy switching up his stances constantly coming up on three minutes here to go round four he switches stance to try to find the openings it makes it harder to you know hit him with the big shots cuz it’s always a different [Applause] look people talk about awkward it’s because of the stance switch and the way that he kicks he kicks you when you’re punching so he can get his head off the center line and it makes things look crazy and then he goes for these nice takedowns drers landed another right hand and it really cut Sean open now lot of blood coming from the eye of the champion so now both of them are pretty beat up in the face Strickland really leaking now look at that left [Applause] eye oh big right hand for [Applause] Dy what a fight as advertised nice round the blitzes are starting to add up now he’s finally able to Blitz forward a little bit on the angle head kick got through and now the right hand is landing on the left side of the Champion’s face could be that the blood is leaking down cuz that cut seems to be in a very bad place beauti physical shot and Strickland gets taken down trying to get to that right hip to get upright he is so strong in his wrestling hasn’t improv so much dup C now is doing more technical wrestling opposed to just trying to Bull you over and you know a lot of people have tried to take down Strickland this again shows you how good DDP actually is he touches you on on with the hands he’s switching stance there’s so many things to look at that’s what opens up the takedowns he gets you respect on the feet and then does stuff like this I mean nobody’s really taken down and and controlled strictland like this strickler’s got to attack the hands if he wants to get up he’s got to step one foot up one at a time there you go right leg up and it start to get to your feet one minute left six takedowns on nine attempts for drus dupi certainly proving that his style can extend into Championship rounds look like strick might have checked that [Music] one dupy loads up misses Twice But continuing to fire offense Strickland’s way and from all different angles great check nice one two from Strickland yep has had a hard time picking up the pace the way his coaches wanted because DDP he’s kept him on his heels 20 minutes in the can five to go Fifth and Final Round we’ll see if Strickland can get back to work off of that jab you knowing him at the highest level of fighting you got to be able to add the wrinkle into a taked down now and then just to get the person thinking so that your striking can open up and vice versa and that’s been the difference so far the take down offense of DVP mixed in the Striking is what’s really made a difference to keep strickling guessing the first round was bad for Drake is D he has made adjustments constantly yeah in round two to three to four that has allowed him to possibly be up 3 to one very plausible certainly a big fourth round for dupi upper cut lands for Strickland 22 or 3-1 V John if you’re sh strickling you’re hoping it’s two to two right because I lean more towards 3 to1 dupy certainly gave him rounds three and four and seems like a lot of the scorecards out there gave him round [Applause] two you he’s just had to fight such a different fight than he fought in Australia in Australia he was on the front foot the entire time dup has put him on his heels all night long nice right hand there by SE good one two from dupi who appears to have turned the crowd in his favor you got to think somewhere in the world Israel adna is watching the festivities intently nice leg kick Low by dup that’s a great kick that’s landed at least four times and trickly needs it but it’s Landing right with the right with the top of the foot right hand partially lands for Strickland could come down to the final three minutes you heard Eric Nix tell his guy he needs this round and Sean stricklin is trying to give it to him right now he is fighting a much more purposeful round five up up up 4 by four let’s [Applause] go extremely tactical [Applause] fight nice take down great defense it was a good [Applause] timing Strickland Jabs his way forward we haven’t seen strickling get back on those te kicks at all either the way his coach wanted those te kicks are extremely effective in the first round for him yeah that was a really good attack for him early in the fight oh Couple pick right hands from Strickland yeah when he starts letting that right hand go he’s dangerous Strickland cuz that jab has just been setting it up the whole fight got a little cut for DDP now because of that right hand [Music] strictly well perhaps the Myriad naysayers who continue to knock the cardio of still knocks will acknowledge his relative freshness here with about 90 seconds to go in round five of a world title fight and even if partially blocked a big right hand for Strickland who has certainly answered the imperative from Eric nixi after round four jab for Strickland lands flush last minute it’s going to really pour on for these guys I think oh nice body kick by D [Applause] Ley give [Applause] everything final minute awesome technical battle from these Champions jab by [Applause] dupi oh Strickland really starting to find the range again round five dup he lands a right hand the right hand he starts clubbing it now instead of down the middle and it’s Landing Yeah final 10 seconds well the forecast was for a war and that is what they [Music] got a standing ovation in Toronto Ontario Canada as Sha Strickland and Drake is dupi go the full 25 minutes to decide the UFC middleweight championship and Drake is dupy comes over to the broadcast booth and all he said was five rounds I think he’s proud of his ability to go 25 minutes tonight as he Embraces the outstanding coach Eric nixi Shan Strickland Valiant after that fourth round to fight an outstanding fifth round and there is one of the many watch parties vioria South Africa UFC what a fight early in the fight it was the jabas Sean Strickland that really did dictate what was going on draus was struggling but as the fight went on he was able to land a lot of takedowns we have not seen Sean trickin taken down that many times right hand lands for the champion dup Lei goes to the body here on one of his blitzes head kick lands for Drake’s dup body kick from the Challenger a big rightand lands for Drake is cuts open Shan Strickland Shan Strickland lands a beautiful overhand right as we get to the end of the fifth round but draus was on the gas the whole time then another straight right hand from draus dup a very close fight Drake is dupi certainly the most credential accomplished mixed marshal lest out of South Africa but there is no overstating what it would mean were he to realize UFC World title tonight and what else can be said about Shan Strickland there have actually been this week comparisons to Conor McGregor believe it or not in terms of the star power and how this man has just exploded exponentially really prior to winning the world title but then breaking through and winning it took him into a totally different Stratosphere and only one man knows who has won one Bruce Buffer with the cards ladies and gentlemen after five rounds we go to the judges score cars for a decision sio scores the contest 4847 Strickland Eric Cohen has it 4847 dupas and Derek Curley scores the contest 4847 for the winner by split decision and new all UFC middleweight champion of the world D Still d [Applause] yes wow [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] together here I’m here with the new Champion draus dup draus how does that sound thank you so much Canada can I get my flag coach coach flag I want my flag this is history South Africa no VI draus you so proudly represent this nation what does it mean to your country to have a UFC champion I don’t know but I can tell you right now South Africa we could probably if we all go silent hear them from outside that country is amazing thank you South Africa donkey they are going crazy this is history we love look there that’s your country right there South Africa [Applause] baby Drake CU did you think you had done enough to get the victory when you walked to the center listen let me tell you this I honestly thought with the takedowns I made sure on every round I could feel it was a close fight I definitely gave him the first round I tried to get that take down in the first to try and level the playing field and I felt that he gets up really well but I can get under him and get him down cuz I’m stronger but um I felt the first three rounds was uh give and take but those last the last two rounds I know everybody said when the ghost pass halfway and I had a point to prove how’s that for round four and five who says this guy’s not a five round fighter what did I tell you draus let’s take a look at your work earlier in the week you said you had to make him go backwards and you did that the entire time how focused on that were you going into this fight absolutely that was our game plan I mean he has a super super strong jab it’s almost like he doesn’t open his hand he has to sling fist every time he hits you with that jab it feels like somebody hits you with a rock it’s very deceptive the way he throws his jab and he can turn it into a left Duke he does that very very well but it was imperative that I made this man and go backwards and it took me a while because I knew if I kept on pressuring he’ll pressure but you know if you if I’m bridging like this this this physique I promise you’re going to get tired and that was the game plan I got tired too but I had to fight for it tonight and Sean Shin he said to death I tried to kill you in here tonight didn’t quite get there but you all one hell of a man thank you for bringing the best out of me thank you for being a good a good guy doing what you have to to entertain fans but you know you came out here tonight we kept it professional it was an honor Shing to catch with you thank you it was an absolute War you said you wanted someone to bring that war to you Sean Strickland did this you are now the champion of the world so you have a ton of options do you start to think about what’s next for dra’s dup you have a lot of rivalries out there and there are people lining up to get a shot at the new champ yeah well I mean I saw Alex PR get into the cage and I thought well okay here we go again let’s do the face off right now let’s see if I can recover in time but it looks like that’s not happening but uh right now I have to tell you man I’m really enjoying this I would love it was another guy who tried to take my shine he lost his shine now I have your shine you didn’t get into the Gat or not but israa get your ass back into UFC so we can settle the score ladies and gentlemen give it up for the new middleweight champion in the world draus D bless SE w