UFC 305 headliners Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya will be the latest to enter the Octagon with custom-designed fight gear.
For a while, featherweight contender Bryce Mitchell marked the only athlete who made the walk in custom shorts, donning his camouflage gear to the cage. This year, however, the promotion and its uniform partner Venum have expanded that in a big way.
UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley was the first in 2024, receiving bright pink shorts for his title defense against Marlon Vera in Miami this past March. The following month, Alex Pereira, Zhang Weili, Justin Gaethje, and Max Holloway all wore custom kits at the milestone UFC 300 event at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Dustin Poirier was next with floral shorts at UFC 302, while UFC 303 later in June saw Ian Garry in purple gear. Last month, meanwhile, saw Leon Edwards and Paddy Pimblett given custom gear for their home fights at UFC 304 in Manchester.
The initiative shows no signs of slowing, and the latest reveal ahead of the UFC 305 pay-per-view has displayed the shorts that will be worn by Du Plessis and Adesanya as they duke it out for the middleweight championship.
“Stillknocks” and “The Last Stylebender” will look to settle their grudge from last year when they headline this weekend’s event in Perth, Australia.
While they top the lineup with gold on the line, the likes of former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg, lightweight fan favorite Dan Hooker, and hard-hitting heavyweight Tai Tuivasa will also be among those in action.
MMA Fans React To Du Plessis, Adesanya’s Custom UFC 305 Shorts: ‘Best Ones So Far’
Plenty in the mixed martial arts community flocked to social media to give their thoughts on the latest custom shorts. And by the looks of things, the designs went down well…