Listen, this is going to be a controversial fight that gets everyone arguing in the comment section. Adesanya is by far the better, more technical fighter, its not even close. His striking technique is clean, his footwork is fantastic, his defense is fantastic and he's one of the best middleweights of all time. But he loses this fight. Dricus is sloppy. but the pressure is insane. The constant forward movement, the constant takedown attempts, the bullying, i think it will all be too much for izzy. 35 years old, a year away, the insane amount of pressure he put on himself. I don't see it. Dricus is the pick and I have 2 different bets on him at +105 and +120.

Dricus Du Plessis

Dricus Du Plessis is a good striker who can work in takedowns. He is exciting to watch because of his explosiveness and incredible leg kicks. He's a very good grappler as well who hunts for submissions and looks for stoppages on the ground but his takedown defense could use some work. While he does continue to get quality wins, the reality is that he is a bit sloppy and lacks certain techniques but is able to cardio his way to a win bonus. He is coming off that close title win over Sean Strickland where he had 6 takedowns

Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya doesn't need much of a breakdown, everyone knows who he is and what he's good at. He is obviously an amazing kickboxer and the long time middleweight champion. He times his strikes really well and is a great counter striker with a good chin. He will roll his shoulders and bob his head while opponents throw a ton of punches trying to find the target. Very little lands and he quickly fires back with short hooks and straights. His takedown defense is solid at 77% and he will need it in this fight.