Israel Adesanya thought Dricus Du Plessis was “done” in the fourth round

Israel Adesanya felt like Dricus Du Plessis was done in the fourth round just moments before he got the submission win.

Adesanya was fighting for the first time in nearly a year as he headlined UFC 305 against Du Plessis for the middleweight title. It was an intriguing matchup and in the fourth round, it looked like Adesanya was starting to take over. He was having success on the feet, and he says there was a moment in the round when he felt like Du Plessis was done.

However, Israel Adesanya says Dricus Du Plessis is stubborn and was able to recover quickly and turn it around to get the submission win.

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“He’s tough, he’s stubborn that is what it is. Even if he’s tired, which one was it, I sprawled on him, was it round four? Beginning of round four, I hit him with one of the meanest sprawls because he just shot and I just put his face into the mat, and boom. I tried to kick his body and then told him to get up. Marc (Goddard) was like get up, and he laid there on the ground and took a breath, and I was like he is done, so I try to go for him,” Israel Adesanya said on his YouTube channel.

“Even at that moment, he swang at me, so I was like f**k, that stopped my momentum right there. He’s stubborn, most guys wouldn’t be able to do that while they are tired. He’s going to throw anyway because he needs to stop their momentum, he’s just going to throw anyway. At least it stops me in my tracks, so I have to reset and have to come again and it gives him a little bit of breathing space for a second or two,” Adesanya added.

As Israel Adesanya says, Dricus Du Plessis is extremely tough to put away and he ended up proving that at UFC 305.

With the fourth-round submission loss to Du Plessis, Adesanya is now 24-4 as a pro and 1-3 in his last four fights.