Dricus Du Plessis punks Izzy, Alex Pereira next?

Dricus Du Plessis continued his former-champion rampage and choked out Israel Adesanya in round four of the main event of UFC 305. Now with Robert Whittaker, Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya in his rear view mirror, we have to ask: How does Dricus Du Plessis keep winning despite not passing the eye test when fighting.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:31 Welcome to the Dricus Du Plessis era!
8:05 Israel Adesanya is not over the hill
13:17 Kai Kara-France makes his shot count
17:30 Mateusz Gamrot fumbles

Dricus Du Plessis showed the world that he’s the rightful champion. While beating Sean Strickland was certainly what made him a champion, many doubted the legitimacy of Sean Strickland’s reign and thus, Dricus Du Plessis’ reign too. But with his win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, there’s no doubting it now. We are in the Dricus Du Plessis era. Now 8-0 in the UFC, fans are starting to ask for him to take on the ever-popular Alex Pereira next. Will it be Pereira or the Strickland rematch?

Israel Adesanya is 35 years old. That’s old for a fighter. Ancient almost. But despite our questions before this fight on Israel Adesanya being over the hill, he proved that he’s not washed and fought better than he has in a long, long time. Israel Adesanya was on the front foot for a lot of the fight, was aggressive with his striking and his defensive wrestling was on point. He just got caught doing what he always does: circling out with his hands down and chin up against the fence. Alex Pereira caught him with it, Sean Strickland caught him with it, and now Dricus Du Plessis caught him with it.

Kai Kara-France thwarted the top five takeover of Steve Erceg this weekend as well, likely getting him a title shot against Alexandre Pantoja. Steve Erceg went life and death with Pantoja and Kai Kara-France managed to knock him out. This is the type of statement the UFC is looking for over a former title challenger when looking for who is next. The answer is clear: Kai Kara-France deserves the title shot next.

Mateusz Gamrot took a gamble and fought much lower ranked Dan Hooker at UFC 305 in Dan Hooker’s back yard. The gamble, unlike Kai Kara-France, did not pay off. Mateusz Gamrot lost to Dan Hooker in a tough fight against an opponent who is very well skilled to match up with him. Now, Mateusz Gamrot is out of the title picture and Dan Hooker is ranked top five in 2024. What a timeline we live in.