Israel Adesanya reacts to Khamzat Chimaev’s dominant win over Dricus Du Plessis: ‘Not what I expected’

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was surprised by how the UFC 319 main event played out.

In the main event of the pay-per-view card on Saturday, Dricus Du Plessis was looking to defend his middleweight title for the third time when he took on Khamzat Chimaev. However, Chimaev dominated Du Plessis in all five rounds, as he got the champ down early and was able to control him and dominate him on the ground for a lopsided decision win.

After watching the fight, Israel Adesanya admits he was surprised by how the fight played out.

“Not what I expected. But I’m glad Khamzat fixed his cardio, or improved his cardio to the point where he can go five rounds and just rag doll people. That’s a mess,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “That’s a mess to deal with, because I thought DDP, maybe Round 4, he’d be able to stuff the takedowns because Khamzat would get tired, but he didn’t slow down.

“He slowed down DDP. He slowed him down which is very impressive because that’s why he finished me in Round 4 because I thought, OK, I got him now. But he just finds a way to get his third wind, his fourth wind. But Khamzat made sure he didn’t get the first wind and just smothered him,” Adesanya added.

Israel Adesanya says division is in good hands

Although Israel Adesanya was surprised by how the fight played out, he does think Khamzat Chimaev being the champ is good for the sport.

Chimaev is a massive star, and Adesanya knows that it will bring more eyeballs to the sport and the middleweight division.

“Khamzat, new middleweight champion, and yeah, the division is in good hands,” Adesanya said.

Adesanya was the UFC middleweight champion from 2019 until 2022, and then again for five months in 2023. He’s on a three-fight losing streak and is coming off a knockout loss to Nassourdine Imavov.