Dricus du Plessis retained the UFC middleweight title with a fourth-round submission victory over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth.
After an extremely close fight in which Adesanya appeared to have a slight advantage, du Plessis landed a few heavy blows before taking his back and forcing the tap with a rear-naked choke.
After a fiery build-up, both men buried the hatchet after the fight.
“This man has done so much for this sport,” Du Plessis said after the fight.
“I’m truly sorry if I made it seem like I was disrespectful to the fact that he is from Africa, that was never my intention.
“Tonight, Africa would have won no matter what, but tonight, it was South Africa who won. It was an honor for me to share the cage with a legend like that. I have the utmost respect for him, warrior to warrior.
“I don’t want to be hit by this man anymore.”
There had been rumors that Adesanya would retire if he lost, but the former two-time champion denied that idea.
“I’m disappointed in myself, but at the same time I’m proud because it was the best feeling I’ve ever had, the best look I’ve ever had, I just had the best man that night and I’ll give him respect for that,” Adesanya said.
“I know all you motherfuckers want to see me lose, want to see me fall, but look at this, I’m not fucking leaving!”
In main support, Kai Kara-France added another first-round knockout to his tally and potentially booked himself a world title fight with a decision win over Steve Erceg.
The Kiwi won the trans-Tasman showdown with Perth product Erceg, dropping him with a long left hook before following up with a powerful right to finish the job shortly after.
Earlier, Dan Hooker earned a surprise split decision victory over Mateusz Gamrot, mixing his diverse striking with sharp defensive wrestling to take down the No. 5 ranked lightweight.
At heavyweight, Jairzinho Rozenstruik proved too precise and skillful for a slightly timid Tai Tuivasa, who slipped to a fifth straight defeat, this time via a rather baffling split decision that saw the dissenting judge relieved of his duties for the remainder of the card.
Meanwhile, Carlos Prates scored a spectacular knockout over Li Jingliang, the first such defeat in the Chinese fighter’s career, announcing himself as a force at welterweight.
Take a look below at how it all went down:
UFC 305 Results and Fight Schedule
Main map
- Dricus du Plessis (c) def. Israel Adesanya via 4th round submission (rear naked choke)
- Kai Kara-France def. Steve Erceg by KO in the 1st round
- Mateusz Gamrot defeated by Dan Hooker by decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
- Tai Tuivasa defeated by Jairzinho Rozenstruik by split decision (29-28, 30-27, 27-30)
- Li Jingliang defeated by Carlos Prates by KO in the 2nd round
Preliminaries
- Junior Tafa defeated by Valter Walker via submission in the 1st round (technical)
- Josh Culibao defeated by Ricardo Ramos by split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
- Casey O’Neill def. Luana Santos by unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 30-26)
- Jack Jenkins def. Herbert Burns by TKO in the 3rd round
The first preliminaries
- Tom Nolan def. Alex Reyes by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
- Kenan Song def. Ricky Glenn by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
- Stewart Nicoll defeated by Jesus Aguilar by submission in the 1st round (guillotine)
What time is UFC 305? PPV card and main event schedule and start time
UFC 305 will take place on Sunday, August 18. The prelims will begin at 8:30 a.m. AEST, the prelims at 10 a.m. AEST. The main card will take place at 12 p.m. AEST. Du Plessis and Adesanya are expected to take to the octagon around 2:15 p.m. AEST, depending on the length of the undercard fights.
Here’s how this schedule corresponds to other time zones around the world:
| Local time (AWST) | AEST | AND | PT | BST | |
| The first preliminaries | 6:30 a.m. | 8:30 a.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. | 11:30 p.m. |
| Preliminaries | 8:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 5:00 p.m. | 1:00 a.m. |
| Main map | 10:00 a.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | 3:00 am |
| Main event (approx.) | 12:15 p.m. | 2:15 p.m. | 00:15 | 9:15 p.m. | 5:15 a.m. |
