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Dricus du Plessis proved once again that he’s the best middleweight in the world.
On Saturday night at UFC 305, du Plessis put a nail in the coffin in his long simmering rivalry with Israel Adesanya after he tapped out the former champion with a nasty rear-naked choke in the fourth round to defend his belt and cement him top the 185-pound division.
While nothing came easy, du Plessis showed toughness, durability and unwavering belief that he would finally get to Adesanya, which is exactly what he did. After hurting “The Last Stylebender” with a barrage of punches on the feet, du Plessis secured a takedown and immediately moved to sink in the submission.
DRICUS DU PLESSIS SUBMITS ISRAEL ADESANYA IN THE FOURTH
AND STILL. #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/v2O4F59kPv
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 18, 2024
A second later with a grimace on his face, Adesanya tapped out with the end coming 3:38 in the fourth round. Afterwards, du Plessis embraced Adesanya as the bad blood between them was finally put to bed.
“For me to share this octagon with a legend, 100 percent a Hall of Famer,” du Plessis said about Adesanya after his win. “This man has done so much for this sport. I’m really sorry that it came across that I disrespected the fact that he’s from Africa, that was never my intention.
“Tonight Africa would have won regardless. But tonight South Africa was the victor. It was an honor for me to share this cage with a legend like that. I have the utmost respect for him, warrior to warrior.”
Despite a valiant effort, Adesanya just couldn’t crack du Plessis’ iron chin and while he survived an early takedown and submission attempt, he failed to break free from the same position in the fourth round. It was understandably a heartbreaking loss for Adesanya but he acknowledged his undoing while giving du Plessis credit for the win.
“I already knew he was going to be tough,” Adesanya said. “It wasn’t a surprise. I felt strong, able to resist his takedowns. I just made a stupid dumb mistake on the ground.”
The fight really played out almost as expected with Adesanya displaying technical brilliance on the feet and du Plessis just finding a way to win by any means necessary. No one is going to mistake du Plessis for a world class striker like Adesanya but he just kept finding a way to rush forward and blast Adesanya with stiff punches that kept the 35-year-old veteran off balance.
In the second round, du Plessis secured a takedown and he battled to get control of a squirmy Adesanya, who just refused to give up the position. Eventually, du Plessis got the back and nearly locked on the rear-naked choke but Adesanya found a way to break free to return to his feet.
There were definitely moments where it looked like Adesanya was going to really hurt du Plessis when he connected with a long punch or a huge uppercut but somehow the incumbent champion just kept coming back at him again and again. The technique from du Plessis usually involved ducking his head and plowing forward with a huge barrage of shots but he always seemed to find a home on Adesanya’s chin just when he needed something big to land.
That’s exactly how the end of the fight played out with Adesanya seemingly in control at distance and then out of nowhere du Plessis charged ahead and unloaded a combination with a couple of punches stunning the former champion. Once he realized Adesanya was dazed, du Plessis just kept blasting away with punches until he found the opening for the takedown, which led to the fight ending submission.
“I need that takedown, got the takedown,” du Plessis said. “At this level it’s hard to keep people down. This man is the king of getting back up. Nobody can take him down and keep him there. I got a few good ones, landed a few good punches but ultimately I believe this fight was won on the feet. Here I am and still champion.”
While winning the title was a monumental occasion for the South African fighter, du Plessis vanquishing one of the greatest middleweights of all time certainly helps cement him as champion and his resume is starting to look awfully good compared to some greats in that division. As far as what comes next, du Plessis says line them up and he’ll keep knocking them down.
“I want to hear ‘and still.’ I don’t care about the opponents,” du Plessis said.
Immediately after the fight, Adesanya actually removed his gloves but retirement wasn’t on his mind. Instead, he was just dejected by the loss but he channeled his inner Jordan Belfort to promise the UFC hasn’t seen the last of him.
“I know all you motherf*ckers want to see me lose, you want to see me down,” Adesanya said. “But watch this —I’m not f*cking leaving. I’m not f*cking leaving!”
Dan Hooker brought the war to Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 and he left with arguably the biggest win of his career.
In a bloody back-and-forth war, Hooker’s ability to shut down Gamrot’s wrestling and dish out a whole lot of damage on the feet helped him secure the victory. While Hooker actually got dropped with a punch in the opening round, he powered back and really punished Gamrot on the feet during numerous exchanges over the final 10 minutes.
When it was over, two judges had the fight 29-28 for Hooker with the third official going 29-28 for Gamrot but that was still enough for the Kiwi to get the win.
“How you like me now?” Hooker shouted after the statement win. “I don’t think I fought that well but you get in a fight, you get your hand raised, that’s all that counts. I’m tougher than old leather. I know I can walk down any man in this world.”
Early in the fight it was Gamrot showing real confidence in his hands with a right hand that tagged Hooker a couple of times in the opening round. That opened up the takedown for Gamrot as he snatched a leg and brought Hooker to the canvas.
Despite Gamrot’s best efforts, Hooker was able to scramble free to get back to his feet but it was short lived success. Gamrot clipped Hooker with another shot that wobbled the New Zealand native and the former two-division KSW champion was all over him with a barrage of punches on the ground.
Just when it looked like Hooker was in trouble, he got back to his feet and cracked Gamrot with a huge left hook to the top of the head. Hooker seized on the moment with Gamrot rattled and struggling to stay on his feet but the Polish wrestler was able to avoid any more damage to make it to the horn.
Following the one-minute break between rounds, Gamrot wasted no time setting up his wrestling as he planted Hooker on the ground with a well-timed double leg takedown but this time they were in the middle of the octagon. Gamrot advanced his position to move into side control as he looked to punish Hooker with his ground and pound.
While it took some time, Hooker eventually broke free to get to his feet and he countered the next takedown attempt with a nasty guillotine choke but Gamrot was relentless with his grappling as he just kept pushing forward.
With five minutes remaining, Hooker really began pushing the pace and getting aggressive going after Gamrot with his striking combinations. While he’s not known for his boxing, Gamrot was still tagging Hooker with a hard right hand that kept his taller opponent honest in the exchanges.
Hooker was more labored with his movement as time ticked away in the final round but he was still catching Gamrot with some hard shots. He was also shrugging off Gamrot’s takedown attempts with ease and then snapping off huge punches whenever he had room to work.
When the final horn sounded, Hooker and Gamrot both looked like they crawled through barbed wire and left a piece of themselves in the octagon. Still, Hooker’s ability to stave off takedowns and do more damage on the feet obviously made the difference on the scorecards.
With the win, Hooker now hopes that he’ll take a huge step forward in the lightweight division, especially after beating a highly ranked contender like Gamrot.
“I want them all,” Hooker said. “I want the ‘BMF.’ I want Conor McGregor. I want a title eliminator.”
Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya square off ahead of UFC 305. | Photo by Will Russell/Zuffa LLC
UFC 305 results, live streaming updates for “Du Plessis vs. Adesanya”-led pay-per-view (PPV) TONIGHT (Sat., Aug. 17, 2024) on ESPN+ from inside RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is “Down Under” tonight (Sat., Aug. 17, 2024) with UFC 305 from inside RAC Arena in Perth, western Australia, streaming LIVE on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV). The main event has Middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis, defending his belt against former 185-pound kingpin, Israel Adesanya (in a bout that has plenty of bad blood). UFC 305’s PPV co-main event has recent Flyweight title challenger, Steve Erceg, against top-ranked mainstay, Kai Kara-France. The PPV main card also boasts Mateusz Gamrotvs. Dan Hooker, Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik andLi Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates.
UFC 305’s late “Prelims” will headlined by Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker, while the early portion features Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes. You can checkout everything that happened on UFC 305’s “Prelims” undercard right here.
UFC 305 START TIME AND DATE
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 305 fight card below, starting with the ESPN+ early “Prelims” undercard bouts, which air at 6:30 p.m. ET right here, followed by the late “Prelims” on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET. UFC 305’s PPV main card will start at 10 p.m ET on ESPN+ PPV. You can bet on all the UFC 305 action right here.
Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps, and post-fight analysis following “Du Plessis vs. Adesanya.” Without further delay, see below for the updated UFC 305 results. (Note: This will go from the top down; therefore, the newest information will at the top of the stream).
UFC 305 QUICK RESULTS
185 lbs.: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya 125 lbs.: Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg 155 lbs.: Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker 265 lbs.: Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik 170 lbs.: Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates 265 lbs.: Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker — Walker def. Tafa via technical submission (leg lock), round 1 (4:56) 145 lbs.: Josh Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos — Ramos def. Josh Culibao via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) 125 lbs.: Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos: O’Neill def. Luana Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) 145 lbs.: Jack Jenkins vs. Herbert Burns — Jenkins def. Burns via TKO (leg kicks), round 3 (0:48) 155 lbs.: Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes — Nolan def. Reyes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) 170 lbs.: Song Kenan vs. Ricky Glenn — Song def. Glenn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28) 125 lbs.: Stewart Nicoll vs. Jesus Aguilar — Aguilar def. Nicoll via submission (guillotine), round 1 (2:29) — HIGHLIGHTS!
UFC 305 PPV MAIN CARD PLAY-BY-PLAY UPDATES
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 305: “Du Plessis vs. Adesanya” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Li Jingliang and Carlos Prates face off ahead of UFC 305 | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
This is the UFC 305 live blog for Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates, the opening main card fight this Saturday in Perth, Australia.
Joining UFC back in 2014, Jingliang had trouble finding his footing early, but then strung together an impressive run, going 7-1 and cracking into the top 15 of UFC’s welterweight rankings. A loss to Neil Magny derailed “The Leech” though, and since then he’s been unable to build any moment, alternating wins and losses. To make matters worse, this will be the first fight for Jingliang in almost two years as he’s been on the sidelines dealing with injuries, and comes back to a stiff test in Prates.
Currently on a nine-fight win streak, Prates joined UFC last year off the Contender Series, and “The Nightmare” has proven to be just that for his opponents, knocking out Trevin Giles and Charles Radtke already this year. If Prates can do the same to Jingliang, his next fight could find him with a chance to break into the welterweight rankings.
Check out the UFC 305 live blog for the opening main card fight below.
Despite being the No. 2 ranked contender at light heavyweight, Magomed Ankalaev will not fight for the division’s top prize.
In a shocking twist, Dana White announced that reigning titleholder Alex Pereira will headline the promotion’s return to Salt Lake City on October 5. But instead of defending his gold against the man everybody thought was next in line, he’ll meet surging knockout artist Khalil Rountree. Suffice it to say, reactions to the matchup were mixed.
While some pundits were quick to praise the pairing, believing it’ll give fight fans a guaranteed banger, others called the matchmaking nonsensical, including ex-champion Jamahal Hill.
As for Ankalaev, the 19-1 fighter was inundated with messages from people offering their support on social media following the title fight snub. However, the lightweight contender doesn’t want your sympathy. Whether it’s for a championship or not, Ankalaev’s goal stays the same — smash everyone the UFC puts in front of him.
“I Received a lot of messages today regarding the Light Heavyweight title fight, my job is to smash people’s face who they put in front of me, I will destroy Rakic in Abu Dhabi and I will not be denied, I don’t need nobody to feel bad for me,” Ankalaev wrote on X.
Magomed Ankalaev meets fifth-ranked contender Aleksandar Rakić next
Instead of challenging Pereira this fall, Ankalaev will square off with another top-five-ranked contender at 205, Aleksandar Rakić. The two will meet at UFC 308 when the promotion heads back to Abu Dhabi on October 26.
After going on an impressive run that saw him win five out of six, Rakić has since come up short in back-to-back bouts against Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka. With a win over Ankalaev, ‘Rocket’ would likely secure his first shot at the light heavyweight strap.
Ankalaev goes into the contest having won 10 straight, including knockouts against Ion Cutelaba, Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith, and Johnny Walker.
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