The UFC heads back to the land from down under for a star-studded UFC 305 PPV that will be taking place in Perth, Australia.

(Photo by Will Russell/Zuffa LLC)

Headlining this monumental fight card are the two best middleweights that the UFC has to offer when the UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis takes on the former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

These two have a lot of bad blood between them which should make for an exciting main event for this fight card.

This fight has the makings of an instant classic for fight fans all around the world, so let's take a look at the matchup and our Du Plessis-Adesanya prediction and pick.

UFC 305: Dricus Du Plessis Betting Predictions August 17th

Dricus Du Plessis (21-2) came into his UFC debut with back-to-back finishes in his move back to the middleweight division giving him a ton of hype surrounding him signing with the promotion.

Since his last loss to the former KSW welterweight champion Roberto Soldic, Du Plessis has gone on an absolute tear.

• He is currently riding a 9-fight winning streak winning all 7 of his fights in his UFC career.
• Of those 7 wins in the UFC, 5 of them have come by finish which are split between 4 knockouts and 1 submission.

Du Plessis may be one of the biggest threats to Israel Adesanya seeing as he has the potential to beat the highly skilled fighter no matter where the fight takes place.

1. He's shown he can go toe-to-toe with elite strikers in the division where he knocked out longtime middleweight competitor and former champion Robert Whittaker.
2. He also can mix things up and take the fight to the canvas as shown in his submission victory over Darren Till. That is where he will have his biggest advantage in this fight against Adesanya.
3. While he can't just sell out for takedowns as Adesanya, he will need to use his unorthodox striking to set up his takedown attempts.

From there we could see Du Plessis wear out Adesanya while landing some heavy ground-and-pound.

Du Plessis is just hitting his stride and he could be catching Adesanya at the tail end of his career after his disappointing loss to Sean Strickland. If Adesanya is even just an ounce of not being the Adesanya of old Du Plessis will take full advantage and potentially be only the second fighter to finish him and retain his middleweight championship.

UFC 305: Israel Adesanya Betting?Predictions August 17th

Israel Adesanya (24-3)? had one of the most disappointing losses of his career when he lost his middleweight championship for a second time when he lost to Sean Strickland who quickly lost his title in his first defense to the current champ Dricus Du Plessis.

• Adesanya suffered his 3rd loss in his UFC career and is now just 1-2 over his last three fights with losses to Alex Pereira and Sean Strickland.
• While he has lost three fights in his career, Adesanya is 2-0 after suffering a loss in his UFC career.

Adesanya is looking to be only the second fighter in UFC history to make a three-time UFC champion when he steps inside the Octagon this Saturday night. In his most recent loss, he certainly didn't look like himself the entire even getting dropped in the first round.

The time off has looked like it has sparked Adesanya's hunger to get bck in there and get his middleweight title back. Given the bad blood between these two we should expect a much more motivated Israel Adesanya in this matchup.

He is at his best when he is countering his opponent's aggression with stinging straight shots and kicks at range. Knowing how Du Plessis loves to be the aggressor and come forward this will play right into the hands of Adesanya who loves to make his opposition miss and counter with heavy artillery.

• However, we can see Adesanya's improved takedown defense on full display in this matchup as Du Plessis will undoubtedly be looking to take this fight to the canvas.

It will be up to Adesanya to get back to his old self the one that was too much on the feet for his opposition and put a stamp in this fight to finish Du Plessis and recapture his middleweight championship.

UFC 305: DRICUS DU PLESSIS vs ISRAEL ADESANYA ODDS FOR AUGUST 17

MONEY LINE

• DRICUS DU PLESSIS: -106
• ISRAEL ADESANYA: -120

PROPS

• DRICUS DU PLESSIS BY POINTS: +430
• DRICUS DU PLESSIS BY SUBMISSION: +600
• DRICUS DU PLESSIS BY KNOCKOUT/TKO: +330
• ISRAEL ADESANYA BY POINTS: +220
• ISRAEL ADESANYA BY KNOCKOUT/TKO: +330
• ISRAEL ADESANYA BY SUBMISSION: +2700

OVER/UNDER (ROUNDS TOTAL)

• OVER 4.5 ROUNDS (-106)
• UNDER 4.5 ROUNDS (-120)

BEST UFC FIGHT ODDS FOR DRICUS DU PLESSIS vs JARNO ERRENS

• The middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis comes in as the underdog in this matchup. Bet365 Sportsbook has the best odds for Du Plessis at (+105)
• The former middleweight champ Israel Adesanya is the favorite in this title fight. BetMGM Sportsbook comes in with the best odds at (-115)
• Bet365 has the best odds when it comes to the over/under on the total rounds, which is set at 4.5 Rounds (-120) for the over, and (-120) for the under

FINAL DU PLESSIS-ADESANYA PICK & PREDICTION

Fight fans finally get to see the conclusion to the beef between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya this weekend and many are excited to see what transpires.

Ultimately, this seems like a passing of the torch fight and while Adesanya is still at the top of his game Du Plessis has just leveled up over the years and will show that he is the face of this division now by outgrappling and outstriking Adesanya throughout the fight getting the nod on the judge's scorecards in his first-ever title defense.

FINAL DU PLESSIS-ADESANYA PICK & PREDICTION: DRICUS DU PLESSIS (-106)