Former UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya was left chasing shadows in his bid to take the belt back from Dricus du Plessis in Perth on Sunday.
In a fourth round that could’ve been an action movie, Adesanya seemed to be in the driver’s seat until du Plessis threw a left hook that made the Kiwi’s plans wobbly. A few left-right goodnights later, Stylebender was on the ground caught in a rare naked choke. Very demure finish
Earlier in the night, Kiwi flyweight contender Kai Kara-France made a smashing return from a 14-month concussion hiatus by knocking out Steve Erceg in another first-round finish.
Dan Hooker, back from a year-long stint on the injury bench due to a broken arm, pulled off a surprise win over Mateusz Gamrot via split decision, giving City Kickboxing a mixed bag of results with two wins and a loss.
