By The Numbers: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya

UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Conventional wisdom holds that it can be much more difficult to stay at the top than to get there. Enter Dricus Du Plessis.

The bruising South African will defend his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown for the first time when he meets former titleholder Israel Adesanya in the UFC 305 main event this Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Du Plessis steps back into the spotlight on the strength of a nine-fight winning streak. He last competed at UFC 297, where he was awarded a contentious split decision over Sean Strickland and laid claim to the 185-pound championship on Jan. 20. Adesanya, meanwhile, remains one of the company’s top draws. The City Kickboxing star has not fought since Sept. 9, when he dropped a unanimous verdict to Strickland and relinquished his hold on the middleweight throne at UFC 293.

As Du Plessis and Adesanya approach their high-stakes battle Down Under, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

30: Years of age for Du Plessis, who was born on Jan. 14, 1994 in Welkom, South Africa.

10: Du Plessis victories by submission, accounting for 48% of his career total (21). His methods of choice: five rear-naked chokes, four guillotine chokes and one face crank. Du Plessis owns nine other victories by knockout or technical knockout (43%) and two more by decision (9%).

138: Significant strikes by which Du Plessis has outstruck the opposition across his seven UFC appearances. He has connected on 520 such strikes while absorbing only 382 in return.

6: Countries in which Du Plessis has plied his mixed martial arts trade. He has gone 12-1 in his native South Africa, 5-0 in the United States, 1-1 in England, 1-0 in Poland, 1-0 in the United Arab Emirates and 1-0 in Canada.

.750: Cumulative winning percentage between the two men—Roberto Soldic and Garreth McLellan—who have defeated Du Plessis. They sport a combined record of 33-11.

35: Years of age for Adesanya, who was born in Lagos, Nigeria on July 22, 1989.

16: Adesanya wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 67% of his career total (24). His list of UFC victims: Alex Pereira, Paulo Costa, Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Rob Wilkinson. Adesanya holds eight other wins by decision (33%).

1,289: Days spent by Adesanya as the undisputed UFC middleweight champion. He held the title from Oct. 5, 2019 to Nov. 12, 2022 and again from April 8, 2023 to Sept. 9, 2023. Only Anderson Silva has enjoyed a longer reign (2,457) atop the 185-pound weight class.

119: Seconds needed for Adesanya to put away Kenan Song with a head kick under the World Fighting Championship banner on Aug. 8, 2015. More than nine years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.

76: Rounds started by Adesanya as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 10 different occasions and carries an 8-2 record in those bouts.

69: Combined victories between the three men—Strickland, Pereira and Jan Blachowicz—who have beaten Adesanya. They boast a cumulative .790 winning percentage at 69-18-1.