Only one other fighter has achieved this incredibly rare feat that Israel Adesanya could pull off at UFC 305
It appears Israel Adesanya may be on the cusp of adding another historical achievement to his UFC career. The Nigerian-born Kiwi could attain an incredibly unique feat in his long-awaited return to action this weekend, one that's only been achieved by MMA icon Randy Couture.
Adesanya is set to face Dricus du Plessis for the 185-pound strap at UFC 305 in Perth this weekend. If 'The Last Stylebender' manages to beat du Plessis and win the UFC middleweight title again, he will become only the second fighter to become a three-time divisional champion in the promotion.
After five consecutive UFC wins, Adesanya won the interim middleweight title against Kelvin Gastelum in April 2019 and unified the championship with a statement victory against Robert Whittaker in October of that year. After five title defenses, Adesanya lost the belt to longtime rival Alex Pereira in Nov. 2022.
While 'The Last Stylebender' reclaimed the title in their rematch in April 2023, he only held it for a few months before he was unexpectedly outpointed by Sean Strickland in their title match last September. Adesanya will now attempt to win the 185-pound strap for the third time against du Plessis, who took it off Strickland via a split decision in January.
As pointed out by talkSPORT, Adesanya could potentially match Couture's record to become a three-time divisional champion. This unique feat was first accomplished by Couture after he won the UFC heavyweight championship three times during his illustrious career.
Israel Adesanya predicts statement victory over Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305
Israel Adesanya recently shared his thoughts on returning to action at UFC 305 after a lengthy layoff and predicted a solid title win over Dricus du Plessis this weekend.
After losing the middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last year, the Nigerian-born Kiwi announced that he'll be taking some time off to recoup and recover. After almost a year away, he'll face du Plessis in a title fight and is confident he can reclaim the belt. During a recent interview, Adesanya said:
''This is the longest layoff in my whole fighting career. I kind of got forced into taking a break because my body needed it... My mind, body, and spirit needed it, and I’m glad I got the break I needed and reset myself, reaffirm myself.''
He continued:
''I’ve been here before, I’ve lost before and I know how things change, so for me, the defeat didn’t shake me. You watch this, in 10 days, I’m going to smoke this fool. I’ve been here before, but I’ll play the game a little differently this time.” [H/t: MMA Mania]