00:00For the better part of four years, Israel Adesanya reigned over the middleweight kingdom
00:06with the style and grace of a great champion.
00:09But when his old foe and rival Alex Pereira wrested the belt from his grasp in November
00:142022, it started a championship carousel of chaos that remains spinning.
00:21After four consecutive utterings of and new, South Africa's Drikus Duplicy holds the
00:27title.
00:28But the old king returns after a year-long hiatus to once again try to restore his order
00:34to the land of 185 pounders.
00:37This is the state of the middleweight division.
00:45Steel Nox completed his quest for UFC gold with a gritty, razor-close decision in Toronto
00:50over Sean Strickland.
00:52The scorecards had their doubters, Sean Strickland loudest among them, but what isn't in doubt
00:57is Drikus Duplicy's place in the weight class.
01:01His awkward, brutish style hasn't been rendered anything but effective, and now he has his
01:06eyes locked on his long-awaited matchup with Israel Adesanya, whom he traded gloves with
01:12last summer at UFC 290.
01:17If there's one way to quiet any doubts about his ascension, it is taking out the two-time
01:22champion.
01:23Love him or hate him, the Last Stylebender has been one of the defining figures in the
01:32UFC for the last six years.
01:35The Nigerian-born New Zealander racked up highlights, haters and accolades throughout
01:40his career, but the 35-year-old still believes he has a masterpiece to paint in the octagon.
01:47Refreshed and re-motivated, he is eager to start on a run of unfinished business, beginning
01:53with Duplicy at UFC 305.
01:59Since losing his title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243, no fighter has been more firmly
02:05in the class of best fighters without a championship belt than Robert Whittaker.
02:10The Reaper is the cream of the middleweight crop, losing only to champions in Adesanya
02:16and Drikus Duplicy since moving to the division back in November 2014.
02:22After outgunning Paolo Costa and starching Ikram Alaskerov to start 2024, Bobby Knuckles
02:29is keen to be the first man to beat Hamzat Shumayev at UFC 308.
02:33With another high-level performance, Whittaker believes he will have his meal ticket to another
02:38chance at becoming a two-time champion.
02:45The owner of the most stunning championship win in recent memory, Sean Strickland saw
02:50his title reign end somewhat prematurely to the tune of a split decision loss to Drikus
02:55Duplicy in January.
02:58After getting his own split decision nod over Paolo Costa in Newark, New Jersey, the brash
03:0333-year-old is hell-bent on getting UFC gold back around his waist.
03:16France's Nasruddin Imovov washed the bitter taste of 2023 out of his mouth with a pair
03:22of main event wins over Romain de Lidzay and Jared Kananier to open his 2024 accounts.
03:28His next test will take place at home in Paris and comes in the form of the surging Brendan
03:33Allen for one of the most crucial bouts in the division come September.
03:38The killer gorilla risked his top spot when he fought Nasruddin Imovov and the gamble
03:43didn't pay off for him.
03:45The one-time title challenger is now in a tricky spot at 40 years old, likely needing
03:50two or three big wins to get another shot at the belt.
03:54He isn't alone in that circumstance, however.
03:56Fighters like Marvin Vettori, Brendan Allen, Hamzat Shamaev and Kaio Bahalio have ascended
04:02to that limbo space between the top ten and the title pitcher.
04:06And chances have to be taken to prove one's greatness.
04:10While Adesanya earned his plaudits during his long reign and the phrase cleaned out
04:15the division was thrown around, the middleweight championship pitcher is as fascinating as
04:20ever.
04:21Whether Duplessy defends the title for the first time or Adesanya climbs to the throne
04:25for a third time, the 185ers have done well to restock and reload challenges for the champ.
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