One Title Fight, Three Divisions On The Line

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This weekend (Sat., Aug. 17, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight kingpin, Dricus Du Plessis, will settle his grudge with former champion, Israel Adesanya, from inside RAC Arena in Perth, Australia in the main event of UFC 305.

If we’re being honest, Du Plessis vs. Adesanya is a huge percentage of the reason to drop nearly a hundred bucks on UFC 305. The supporting fights are good match ups, but they appeal more to the Australian fanbase than anything else. It’s all about the main event, and perhaps that’s deserved in this case.

Obviously, a UFC pay-per-view (PPV) main event should be important, and extra obviously, a title fight carries with it significant divisional implications. That said, when was the last time we could point to a single fight carrying massive implications for three separate divisions?

Allow me to explain.

The first division is simple enough. Either Dricus Du Plessis or Israel Adesanya walk away from the cage strapped with gold, which affects the contenders of their division. Both have history with the current top contenders, Sean Strickland and Robert Whittaker. If Du Plessis walks away with gold, the winner of Whittaker vs. Khamzat is probably next-in-line, whereas Strickland vs. Adesanya is still a valuable fight.

If “Stylebender” becomes Middleweight king once more? Sorry “Bobby Knuckles,” that third fight ain’t happening. Strickland’s decision to wait on the sidelines suddenly looks smart, because that rematch would be HUGE.

... even if it has to wait for a little while.

See, Du Plessis is unfortunately the B-side of his own title defense. UFC doesn’t really have any consistent PPV stars anymore, but “Stylebender” is one of the closest. More importantly, his history with Alex Pereira, the star of the last couple years, means that big opportunities open up with a victory.

Let me be very clear: UFC will try to book Pereira vs. Adesanya 3 (5?) for the Light Heavyweight belt if Adesanya becomes champion once again. There’s a reason why Magomed Ankalaev is being pushed to the side to fight Aleksandar Rakic — UFC doesn’t want to risk Pereira’s position as champion when such a lucrative fight could materialize.

A champion vs. champion match up with all that history and star power? It’s a no-brainer.

That’s how 205-pounds is affected by UFC 305’s main event, but what about Heavyweight? It again comes back to Adesanya and Pereira’s intertwined destinies. An Adesanya loss means that Pereira is unbooked, as again, Ankalaev is busy with Rakic. Pereira isn’t one to wait around, and it sure feels like UFC has a plan to put in motion ...

Here’s where we get a little more speculative: Du Plessis retaining his title probably means Pereira heads to Heavyweight to fight Tom Aspinall. This takes a bit of reading between the lines, but it actually makes a lot of sense if we assume the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic retires afterward ... which is almost certainly the case.

A Jones/Stipe retirement means that Aspinall is now the undisputed champion. The idea of Aspinall vs. Pereira is already floating around, and why not book it immediately? Again, that’s a huge PPV main event, as the future of the division is pitted against the knockout artist looking for his third strap. There’s zero risk for the UFC: Aspinall either grows his star and sends Pereira back to 205-pounds, or “Poatan” makes history as a freaking triple champ.

Three divisions, three titles, numerous contenders, millions of potential PPV buys — they all hang on the outcome of Du Plessis vs. Adesanya!

Talk about a main event with consequence.