After his hiatus from the sport following his championship loss to Sean Strickland, former Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya has announced his next fight via social media. Returning to exact his revenge, we'll finally see the long-awaited matchup between Adesanya and current champion Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa. Check out our UFC news for more coverage and breaking content!

Israel Adesanya last fought in September 2023 at UFC 293, losing his Middleweight belt to eventual champion Sean Strickland. Following the loss as a huge betting favorite, Adesanya vowed he would take some time off from fighting to focus on his own well-being. Now, less than a year later, he'll be set to take on Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 from Perth, Australia.

Posted across social media, Adesanya once again made remarks about his home country of Africa, which started the feud with Du Plessis in the first place. Etched in gold, the date reads “UFC 305 Du Plessis vs. Adesanya August 17.” The pay-per-view card is set to take place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia where Adesanya has a massive fan following. The news was later confirmed by Dana White on the Jim Rome show.

Clearly, Dana White was hoping to put an announcement together before the news got leaked, but Israel Adesanya took matters into his own hands and announced the return to action himself. It's been a long-time coming for these two to meet in the cage and Champion Dricus Du Plessis has said several times that the former champion is the next fight on his list.

The August 17 matchup will be the first title defense for “Stillknocks” Du Plessis after beating Sean Strickland and becoming “And New” back at UFC 297. With a 20-2 professional record, he remains undefeated in seven fights under the UFC promotion. The feud between the two parties began back in July 2023 when they squared-off in the cage following the South African's win over Robert Whittaker. After constant back-and-forth over social media, the two now have a concrete date and fight to train for.

There's a ton of bad blood between these two and their home country's have gotten involved after Du Plessis declared he'd be the first “true” African champion, contrary to Adesanya. Their tempers flaired during the intense stare down and while the fight never materialized, we'll finally get to see these two settle their beef in the cage on August 17.

Who do you have winning this long-awaited grudge match?