Dricus Du Plessis stunned the world when he rag-dolled one of the “Three Kings” of Africa, Israel Adesanya to successfully defend his title at UFC 305. The South African entered the enemy territory for his first title defense and he delivered it with style as he rear naked choked Adesanya in the 4th round to reclaim the 185-lbs gold. His victory was so out of the question that even Dana White was shocked.

‘Stylebender’ entered the Octagon as a favorite at -120 against ‘StillKnocks’, who was an underdog at +100. The MMA community was pretty biased towards Adesanya but Du Plessis showcased why he is the better man. Regardless, let us have a look at the first reaction by the UFC Supremo after Du Plessis’s first title defense.

Dana White praises Dricus Du Plessis’s unorthodox fighting style

Dricus Du Plessis’s fighting style was rather unique when he faced Israel Adesanya. At one point in time, it looked as if the South African Champ was gassed out but he was throwing punches and jabs at such speed that even Joe Rogan was confused. ‘StyleBender’ was expecting ‘StillKnocks’ to use his kickboxing skills, however, the South African stunned the former champ as he grappled with him in every round. When Adesanya gained a bit of momentum in the fourth round, Du Plessis stunned him with a heavy punch followed by a remark naked choke.

After the victory, the warriors shared the stage with nothing but respect. Regardless, Dana White was not there when the fight happened as he was back in New York for some work. At the Dana White contender series, the UFC Supremo praised both the fighters and gave a rather funny comment about Du Plessis’s fighting style, “It was awesome. I was in New York, we were watching it, and we were going crazy during the fight. It was a great fight by both guys. I mean, both guys put on, you know,” said Dana White.

He further added, “I thought that Israel looked incredible. Dricus is just awkward and unorthodox. He’s gotta be the toughest guy to train for. He fights like a white guy dances. It’s so crazy and awkward, you know what I mean? It’s very effective. That’s up to him.

When the reporter further asked what he thought about the fate of Israel Adesanya after the defeat, Dana White said, “Thats up to him, I mean I’m sure he is going to take some time and reflect obviously he decided not to retire that night so I don’t know what we’ll see next.”  Well, White was expecting to witness a victory for Adesanya as this could helped him to schedule the blockbuster decider fight between him and Alex Pereira but the reality is a bit different. However, Du Plessis’s victory was a call for ‘Poatan’ to get back to the 185 lbs division, so it seems. How? Let us find out.

Alex Pereira is excited to be back in the middleweight division

During the peak of Israel Adesanya’s career, it was Alex Pereira who not only stopped but derailed Adesanya’s train. Well, ‘Poatan’ has jumped divisions and is now the champion of the light-heavyweight division. However, Dricus Du Plessis’s victory was closely analyzed by the dual weight champion as he issued a warning signal for the South African champ.

After Du Plessis’s victory, Alex Pereira uploaded o photo of him watching the match on his Instagram Handle and captioned it as, “‘Im going down to 84kg again… Coming down to 185 one more time.” Is Pereira serious about his middleweight comeback? Well, we don’t know for now as the fighter is scheduled to fight Khalil Rountree soon. Well, after Rountree, it’s Magomed Ankalaev’s chance to fight for the title.

Dricus Du Plessis has cemented his place as one of the most important characters of the middleweight division. Will he be able to defend his title against Sean Strickland? State your thoughts in the comments below.