IN a sport that demands pay-per-view stars to not only survive but thrive, one of the UFC biggest and brightest shoots for title redemption in Perth, Australia this weekend.

Former middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya plays the role of challenger once more when he takes on newly-minted Dricus du Plessis on Saturday night.

But there is much more than simply the grandest prize in mixed martial arts on the line Down Under, as the Nigerian-born challenger and the South African champion split a continent.

Africa divided, who will emerge Sunday morning with birthplace bragging rights?

THE LAST STYLEBENDER

Six years ago, in Perth, former kickboxing standout Adesanya made his UFC debut. Five wins in just 14 months later, and he captured UFC gold.

Averaging three fights a year, Adesanya made six defences of the 185lb belt, cleaning out the top of the weight class in some style.

However, an ill-fated attempt at the light-heavy crown mid-run kept him grounded. And when the UFC accelerated his old kickboxing nemesis, Alex Pereira, into contention in 2022, Izzy suffered his first middleweight defeat after 23 victories.

In April last year, despite his dramatic KO loss – the third defeat in fight sports to the Brazilian – Adesanya scored arguably the biggest win of his fighting life, knocking Pereira out cold in round two to reclaim his belt.

Two months later, du Plessis defeated #1 contender Robert Whittaker to line himself up for a shot at the champion. But injury prevented him from entering the Octagon in Sydney in September.

In stepped unlikely challenger Sean Strickland who, against all the odds, out-struck an out-of-sorts Adesanya over five rounds to plunder the middleweight belt.

However, Dricus got the all-African championship match-up back on track when he outscored Strickland in January to climb aloft the 185lb throne.

STILLKNOCKS

A champion on multiple continents even before he even entered the UFC Octagon, 30-year-old du Plessis boasts a 21-2 career record with 19 finishes; nine by knockout and 10 submissions.

Like Adesanya, his rise in the UFC has been meteoric. After debuting in October 2020, he’s amassed seven straight victories to divide and conquer.

Consistently placed in the role of underdog, ‘Stillknocks’ has been on a campaign of destruction, not only defeating the division’s leading contenders but obliterating them.

Last summer’s pivotal TKO of Whittaker remains his biggest and best performance to date, but when a challenger becomes a champion, the repercussions are usually affirmative.

We will get a levelled-up version of the champion when the cage door closes in Perth. That’s almost guaranteed.

It’s what the challenger has left to offer a sport he’s effectively already conquered that will decide the outcome. At 35, and already a first choice Hall of Famer, what has Adesanya got left?

If he turns up timid, gun-shy and on the backfoot like he did against Strickland last time out, du Plessis will run through him like he has the rest and close the chapter on Adesanya’s MMA legacy.

But, if Adesanya, motivated by birthplace rivalry, can turn back the clock then his sniper-like accuracy and creativity will be perfectly suited for the marauding pressure of the new king.

Either way, I know it will be conclusive. But I’m edging towards Adesanya writing one final chapter in his Hall of Fame PPV career.

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