UFC fighters react to Dricus du Plessis submitting Israel Adesanya in UFC 305 main event

The UFC 305 main event lived up to the hype. In a back-and-forth fight, Dricus du Plessis emerged victorious after submitting Israel Adesanya in the fourth round.

"I knew I was in trouble fighting one of the greatest strikers in the division. I had to take him down... I'm alive that's just a bonus. I came in here ready to die... For me to share this Octagon with a legend. This man has done so much for this sport... I want to hear and still. I don't care about the opponent," said du Plessis after the win.

Adesanya also had his moment on the microphone saying, "I already knew his toughness. I was quite strong in there. I just made a stupid mistake on the ground and he got me... I'm disappointed in myself but I'm proud. He was the better man on this night... I'm not f*cking leaving,"

The bad blood behind du Plessis and Adesanya had been building for months. The two men had argued over who was the real African world champion. Du Plessis was born in South Africa and still lives and trains there. Adesanya was born in Nigeria but lives and trains out of Auckland, New Zealand.

Du Plessis entered UFC 305 as the UFC middleweight champion after he defeated Sean Strickland at UFC 297. Since joining the UFC, Du Plessis is undefeated, winning eight straight fights. In his next title defense, du Plessis, will likely face Strickland in a rematch of their UFC 297 fight that was extremely close. UFC President Dana White went on record stating that he thought Strickland won that fight.

Adesanya won the championship at UFC 243 and successfully defended the title five times. Ultimately, Adesanya dropped the title to Alex Periera at UFC 281 but won the title back at UFC 287 in an immediate rematch. UFC 305 was Adesanya's return to the Octagon after 11 months away. In his last fight, Adesanya lost to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.

Saturday's fight was the 12th straight fight that Adesanya had fought for a championship. The next time that Adesanya fights will be the first time he does not fight for a title since UFC 234. Adesanya has lost two straight fights and three of his last four. Adesanya will have to pick up a win against another top-five ranked opponent if he wants to earn another title shot against du Plessis.

The UFC could use Adesanya to make a super fight that could main event a UFC PPV without a championship. A fight between Adesanya and undefeated content Khamzat Chimaev could be a massive fight. Chimaev is the 11th ranked middleweight but has not fought since UFC 294. If that fight were to happen, the winner would immediately get a title fight.

MMA fighters react to the UFC 305 main event