Quick Results
Main Card (10 p.m. ET) (PPV)
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Israel Adesanya (RD 4, 3:38) (UFC Middleweight Championship)
- Kai Kara-France def. Steve Erceg via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:04)
- Dan Hooker def. Mateusz Gamrot via Decision, Split
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Tai Tuivasa via Decision, Split
- Carlos Prates def. Li Jingliang via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:02)
Preliminary Card (8 p.m. ET) (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
- Valter Walker def. Junior Tafa via Submission, Heel Hook (RD 1, 4:56)
- Ricardo Ramos def. Josh Culibao via Decision, Split
- Casey O’Neill def. Luana Santos via Decision, Unanimous
- Jack Jenkins def. Herbert Burns via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:48)
Early Prelims (6:30 p.m. ET) (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
- Tom Nolan def. Alex Reyes via Decision, Unanimous
- Song Kenan def. Ricky Glenn via Decision, Unanimous
- Jesus Aguilar def. Stewart Nicoll via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 2:39)
Dricus Du Plessis suddenly submits Israel Adesanya to end close middleweight title clash
Dricus Du Plessis brought his tense battle against Israel Adesanya to a sudden end in the fourth round, catching him with a rear naked choke to retain the UFC Middleweight Championship.
The massive win for Du Plessis middleweight headlined UFC 305, which took place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia this weekend.
Defending champ Du Plessis set up for the finishing sequence late in the fourth round with a combination of right hands. After he chased Adesanya down with a trio of clean, damaging right hooks, Du Plessis got “The Stylebender” to the canvas with a clinch takedown.
It was only moments after the takedown that Du Plessis slipped in a rear naked choke, resulting in a tap-out from Adesanya.
The finishing sequence came after a series of hard-to-score rounds between the top middleweights, with it not being entirely clear who would have walked away with a scorecard win.
The 185-pound talents had back-and-forth exchanges on the feet, with numerous swings in momentum. In the third and fourth rounds, Adesanya opened with a high volume of shots that seemingly put him in control. However, Du Plessis would eventually up his tempo later in the round by landing larger, more powerful shots, making the frames close.
Arguably the most dominant round for either fighter was the second, when Du Plessis used his wrestling to control Adesanya and land strikes. While work on the ground took a backseat to numerous striking battles, it eventually played a big factor in the finishing sequence.
“I’m alive right now, that’s just a bonus,” Du Plessis said during his post-fight interview. “I came in here to die for this belt, and I came in here to take a life. Luckily we didn’t have to do either of those things.”
Du Plessis captured the UFC Middleweight Championship earlier this year with a split decision win over Sean Strickland in Canada. He has now attained eight wins since entering the UFC roster in 2020, with nearly all of them coming via finish.
Due to the close nature of Du Plessis’ win over Strickland, it seems likely that the two will clash again in the future. However, Du Plessis isn’t concerned about who he has to face next.
“I want to hear ‘And Still,’ that’s the only thing I care about,” he said. “I don’t care about opponent.”
Saturday was an attempt for Adesanya – the second-most decorated fighter in middleweight history – to try and start a third title run in the division. His brief second reign with the title came to an end last year after he suffered a massive upset loss to Strickland in Australia.
“I didn’t do what I wanted to do tonight, and yeah. I’m disappointed in myself but at the same time I’m proud because this is the best I’ve ever felt and the best I’ve ever looked.”
After taking a second consecutive loss for the first time in his MMA career, 35-year-old Adesanya defiantly claimed that he was not done fighting, saying “I’m not f****** leavin.'”
Kai Kara-France returns with highlight-reel finish
Kai Kara-France got back his mojo with a quick finish win in Saturday’s co-main event, catching recent flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg in the opening round with boxing combinations for an early finish.
New Zealander Kara-France floored Erceg just a few minutes into their fight with a clean overhand left. Showing his killer instinct as a fighter, he continued to stay on Erceg afterward with accurate punches. The City Kickboxing talent connected with a right hook that knocked Erceg down once again moments later, causing the referee to stop the fight.
The performance was a big win for Kara-France, a notable flyweight contender who was looking to inject energy into his push toward another title shot. After losses in recent years against high-level 125-pound fighters Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi, he was in need of a big win to remain one of the division’s top names.
After his win on Saturday, Kara-France spoke about how he not just won but did so in a dominant fashion.
“This is the statement I was talking about,” he said. “I want my actions should be my loudest voice. Who do you think I should fight next? For the title?”
Erceg was returning after losing against flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja earlier this year. He was a fast-rising contender in the division prior to that fight, stringing together a trio of wins within a year to land the title fight.
New Zealand’s Dan Hooker breaks into lightweight top 10 with win over Mateusz Gamrot
Lightweight Dan Hooker had a competitive performance against Mateusz Gamrot for a big win, having the better output of damage to take a split decision result.
Hooker had the more damaging striking against Gamrot, allowing him to even come close to finishing the fight at points. A moment late in the first round notably saw former KSW champ Gamrot in significant trouble, scrambling to recover after getting knocked down with a left hook.
Gamrot controlled Hooker for periods of the fight with his wrestling, slowing the New Zealander’s output for minutes at a time. However, he did little to contribute to damage in comparison to Hooker, who continued to have a higher volume of strikes as the fight progressed. The fight came down to control versus damage, and under the judging criteria of MMA, it is the latter which gets put first.
The win is likely to push 11th-place lightweight Hooker up to fifth, the spot Gamrot held when heading into this weekend.
City Kickboxing’s Hooker was returning after a 13-month layoff, with his previous fight being a split decision over Jalin Turner at UFC 290. He’s now on a three-fight run of wins, a welcome sight after losing four of his five fights over a two-year period back in 2020.
Gamrot has mainly seen success since joining the UFC roster in 2020, with Saturday marking just his third loss through 10 fights in the promotion. He was returning this weekend after wins over high-profile names, overcoming Rafael Fiziev and Rafael dos Anjos over the past year.
Tai Tuivasa takes fifth consecutive loss
Jairzinho Rozenstruik extended Tai Tuivasa’s losing streak to a lengthy five fights in a row, taking him the distance for the first time since 2019 to win via split decision.
Rozenstruik had the quicker, cleaner punches in a three-round stand-up battle, marking up the face of an advancing Tuivasa. The fight worked at a significantly slower and measured pace than what fans of Tuivasa might expect, with the fight only heating up for brief moments throughout 15 minutes. This worked in favor of Rozenstruik, who significantly out-landed him in all three rounds of their fight.
The most chaotic moments of the fight came in the second round when the heavyweights started to tag each other with quick combinations. Tuivasa seemingly hurt himself with a leg kick at one point, causing him to back up and endure an onslaught from the Suriname vet.
Tuivasa was fighting in front of his home country of Australia, hoping to secure a win after getting finished in four performances since 2022. Instead, he tied himself with Andrea Lee for the second-longest active losing streak in the promotion.
Rozenstruik was getting back into the cage following a main event win over Shamil Gaziev in March. He is now on a two-fight run of wins for the first time since he initially sprung onto the UFC roster in 2019.
Carlos Prates earns third finish win in rookie UFC year
Flashy Brazilian striker Carlos Prates became the first man to finish Li Jingliang on Saturday night, keeping his streak of explosive victories alive with a brutal second-round knockout.
The left hand for Prates connected clean throughout the fight and eventually caused the end of Li’s night. Prates set up clean left cross punches throughout the bout, causing numerous knockdowns over the course of just under 10 minutes in total. After dropping Li twice earlier, a third knockdown came early in the second round from the shot. After Li stood back up, Prates connected once again to put the Chinese vet out cold and bring an end to the fight.
The main card opener continued a big rookie year on the UFC roster for Prates, which now includes three finish victories. In recent months he earned a pair of Performance of the Night bonuses, using strikes to put away Charles Radtke and Trevin Giles. After his win on Saturday, it wouldn’t be surprising if a third bonus would go his way.
Li, an experienced UFC talent who joined the promotion a decade ago, was returning for the first time in nearly two years. His previous appearance was a split decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 279.
Prelim results: Valter Walker scores first UFC win, Australia’s Jack Jenkins and Tom Nolan secure victories
Valter Walker, the brother of notable light heavyweight Johnny Walker, scored his first UFC win on Saturday night with a first-round submission against Junior Tafa. In what was ruled a technical submission via heel hook, a yelp from Tafa caused a stoppage to the fight with just seconds left in the round. Tafa remained frustrated minutes following the stoppage, getting in the face of Walker briefly and grazing him with a slight slap. The Australian live crowd was also angry with the stoppage, booing Walker after the ruling was announced. Walker is now back in the win column after ending his undefeated record against Lukasz Brzeski in April. Tafa has now lost three of his four UFC bouts.
Veteran Ricardo Ramos snuck past Josh Culibao in a close split decision result, snapping a two-fight skid in the process. While Culibao had the stronger striking, scoring damaging leg kicks and having the superior boxing, control on the ground in rounds one and three gave the decision to Ramos. The Brazilian talent in particular came close to a rear naked choke in the opening minutes, fully securing the submission before Culibao escaped. The reults puts 13-fight UFC featherweight Ramos back into the win column after back-to-back submission losses in 2023. For Culibao, he’s now on a three-fight losing streak.
Casey O’Neill put together an important bounce-back performance, having a clear stand-up advantage against Luana Santos and cruising to a unanimous decision win. The three-round performance resumed 15th-ranked O’Neill’s climb in the flyweight division, a campaign which was briefly slowed by a pair of losses in 2023. For 24-year-old Santos, Saturday put an end to her undefeated three-fight UFC run.
The striking abilities of Jack Jenkins became too much for Herbert Burns by the third round of their featherweight fight, forcing a TKO stoppage in the closing minutes. Damaging shots from Jenkins, including knockdown-ensuing punches and chopping leg kicks, rendered Burns unable to return to his feet, causing the stoppage. The victory put Jenkins back into the win column after suffering his first UFC loss last year, getting stopped by Chepe Mariscal. The bout also called into question the future of Burns, who suffered his fourth consecutive loss remained winless through four years.
Australia picked up their first win of the night when Tom Nolan got past Alex Reyes in a unanimous decision result. Nolan, who entered as a massive favorite, put together the more damaging strikes to secure a comfortable scorecard win. Despite being a huge underdog, Reyes gave Nolan was also active in stand-up battles and gave the lightweight prospect a tough test until the end. The defeat kept Reyes winless through three UFC appearances since 2017.
Ricky Glenn’s first appearance up at welterweight didn’t go as expected, getting out-struck by Song Kenan and losing via unanimous decision after three rounds. Song did significant damage to Glenn throughout the fight with strikes, causing a huge hematoma on his hairline part-way through the bout and allowing him to take all three rounds on two of the scorecards. The fight was a third consecutive loss for Glenn, who had suffered back-to-back finishes down at lightweight last year.
Jesus Aguilar spoiled the UFC debut of Stewart Nicoll to open the night, putting the Australian prospect to sleep in the first round with a guillotine choke. Aguilar made the gutsy move to jump guard with the choke attempt, and the move ended up paying off, resulting in a stoppage just three minutes in. After ending Nicoll’s eight-fight undefeated record, Mexico’s Aguilar now has a trio of wins in the UFC.
