The Actual Winners and Losers From UFC 305

This one was legit.

Although fight sports activities media excursions and weigh-ins are steadily dotted with apparently venomous confrontations between main-event combatants, the enmity between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya appeared fairly genuine.

The elite middleweights had their names in each other’s mouths for a number of years, and now that Du Plessis has ascended to the 185-pound title that Adesanya had held throughout two reigns from 2019 to 2023, a long-awaited confrontation was lastly cued up.

They met for the championship atop UFC 305, a 12-bout present on the RAC Enviornment in Perth, Australia headlined by a five-bout pay-per-view portion that went dwell at 10 p.m. ET.

It was Du Plessis’ first title protection since dethroning Sean Strickland — the person who beat Adesanya — by break up choice at UFC 297 in January. Adesanya had not fought since his stunning loss to Strickland, by unanimous choice, at UFC 293 final September.

The B/R fight workforce was in place to soak up the present and ship a real-time listing of its definitive winners and losers. Check out what we got here up with and drop a thought or two of your personal within the feedback.

Dricus Du Plessis was bathing within the villainy.

He strutted across the cage, gestured to a partisan Israel Adesanya crowd like an old-school wrestling heel, and smiled as solely an undisputed champion can smile.

It was becoming. As a result of he’d earned it.

The highly effective South African endured three-plus rounds of exact placing from the previous two-time middleweight king. However simply when it appeared prefer it was slipping away from him, he responded with a sequence of exhausting pictures that drove Adesanya to the bottom and gave Du Plessis the opening for the rear-naked choke that drew a decisive faucet at 3:38 of the fourth.

It was the champion’s first protection of the belt he’d gained from Sean Strickland in January, 4 months after Strickland had dethroned Adesanya.

“He is obtained a ton of coronary heart, and he does not quit on himself,” analyst Daniel Cormier mentioned. “He does not veer. He simply retains preventing.”

And if the post-fight chatter is correct, he is perhaps preventing one other champion subsequent.

The printed crew of Cormier, Jon Anik and Dominick Cruz mentioned ex-middleweight champ Alex Pereira’s obvious need to return to 185 kilos, which may arrange a mega-fight between them sooner or later in 2025. Pereira has a title protection at 205 kilos on the books later this yr however suggests he can nonetheless make weight in his earlier division.

“I do not Pereira ever needed his middleweight story to finish the way in which it did,” Anik mentioned, referencing the KO loss to Adesanya that preceded his soar to 205. “Are you able to think about him and Dricus Du Plessis?”

Du Plessis, by the way, has now overwhelmed former/reigning champions Robert Whittaker, Strickland and Adesanya in succession and is 8-0 within the UFC.

“I simply wish to hear ‘and nonetheless,’” he mentioned. “I do not care in regards to the opponent.”

If at first you do not succeed, attempt, attempt once more.

Or, in Kai Kara-France’s case, if the primary two punches in your mixture do not land to their desired impact, hold throwing bombs.

That is what the power-punching flyweight did within the late going of his first spherical with current title challenger Steve Erceg – lacking with a jab and grazing with a follow-up proper hand earlier than hitting paydirt with a step-through left that left his foe flat on his again.

Erceg rose and tried to evade additional harm however failed, in the end taking one other exhausting shot alongside the fence that once more despatched him to the ground and compelled the hand of referee Wealthy Mitchell at 4:04 of the primary.

It was a thirteenth profession KO and an eighth win in 12 UFC appearances for the 31-year-old New Zealander, who’d misplaced consecutive fights to Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi since his most up-to-date win over Askar Askarov on a Battle Night time present in March 2022.

“We knew Steve was gonna be artful,” Kara-France mentioned. “I could not simply let the cannon go. I needed to set it up.”

It is distinctive to fight sports activities and particularly the UFC.

Two athletes can virtually actually beat each other to a bloody pulp and the brink of semi-consciousness over quarter-hour, then spend a number of extra minutes shaking palms, embracing and congratulating each other for the kilos of flesh they claimed.

Light-weight rivals Dan Hooker and Mateusz Gamrot did so after a very brutal scrap that left Hooker with no fewer than 4 cuts round two swollen eyes, whereas Gamrot emerged with a left eye surrounded by reddened tissue that swelled badly late within the combat.

Each males can be in some ache come Sunday morning, but it surely’ll be Gamrot feeling a bit worse for the wear and tear due to a reed-thin break up choice that went in Hooker’s route.

Decide Mick Meany noticed it 29-28 for the fifth-ranked Pole however was overruled by Mark Christie and Ben Cartlidge, every of whom gave it to Hooker by the identical rating. All three judges gave Hooker the ultimate spherical, offering a 3rd straight victory and what’ll definitely be a major soar from his pre-fight rating at No. 11.

To not point out a shot at some vital foes in his post-fight promo.

“I can stroll down any man on the planet,” he mentioned. “I would like all of them. I would like the BMF. I would like Conor McGregor. I would like every thing.”

It is solely been 30 months.

Again then, in February 2022 to be precise, Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa was the speak of the big-boy division, having dispatched divisional stalwart and hometown hero Derrick Lewis in two rounds at UFC 271 in Houston.

It was his fifth straight win within the promotion. His trademark “shoey” was turning into well-liked with a rowdy fan base. And a Cinderella run to a title shot appeared imminent.

But it surely’s been an extended 30 months.

Somewhat than constructing on the momentum, the fighter referred to as “Bam Bam” has struggled to search out his method ever since and Saturday was no totally different as Tuivasa dropped a choice to Jairzinho Rozenstruik which was his fifth straight loss because the Lewis triumph.

It was introduced as a break up verdict due to a 30-27 card in Tuivasa’s favor from Howie Sales space that ranks as one of many worst within the promotion’s current historical past.

But it surely was accurately outweighed by 29-28 and 30-27 tallies in Rozenstruik’s route for his second straight win and ninth in 14 UFC fights.

“The judges, tonight, you have to take note of what they’re ,” analyst Dominick Cruz mentioned. “Some individuals are simply confused, you understand?”

Carlos Prates was drawing rave evaluations from the cage-side broadcast workforce halfway by means of his main-card opener after they urged he was one of many high 5 “most prepared” graduates of Dana White’s Contender Collection.

Seems they could should ramp up the adjectives.

The Brazilian-based birthday boy turned 31 on Saturday and claimed what could possibly be a career-defining second as a gift, pasting rugged veteran Li Jingliang with highly effective strikes earlier than placing him to sleep, actually, with a tough left hook at 4:02 of the second.

It was the tenth win in a row general for Prates, his third straight within the UFC after a Contender Collection win a yr in the past, and the kind of efficiency that’s prone to put him within the dialog for a shot at a fighter ranked within the decrease tier of the welterweight high 15.

To not point out a few additional bucks, too.

“As we speak I am actually motivated as a result of it is my birthday,” he mentioned. “I believe this was a extremely good efficiency — 50 Okay can be a extremely good current.”

It was about brother vs. brother within the cage.

However inside moments of the weird ending to the heavyweight bout matching Junior Tafa and Valter Walker, it was extra about analyst vs. analyst on the surface.

Walker, the sibling of Brazilian mild heavyweight Johnny Walker, scored a win for the household title when he locked in a late first-round heel hook that drew a scream from Tafa that was interpreted by referee Steve Perceval as a verbal submission at 4:56.

Tafa did not agree with the curtain drop and continued the scrap with Walker within the fast aftermath, going brow to brow with him and ending the confrontation with a walkaway smack throughout the face.

It did not come to blows on the surface, however there was some broadcast desk dissension when Dominick Cruz railed about Perceval, suggesting that “The refs have the chance to take the chance from us,” which prompted cohort Daniel Cormier to answer with “You could be mad if you wish to, however he yelled from the ache and that seems like a verbal to me.”

Blow-by-blow man Jon Anik quickly offered context that supported Cormier’s level when he relayed info from veteran official John McCarthy that confirmed that “a scream is interpreted (by referees) as a submission.”

All of it got here all the way down to the third spherical.

The featherweight bout between wannabe ranked contenders Josh Culibao and Ricardo Ramos was tied, rightfully, on all three scorecards heading into the ultimate 5 minutes.

And because the Australia-based Culibao managed the early going within the third with superior placing towards a foe whose left leg had been badly compromised by calf kicks, it appeared he’d present a 3rd straight win for Down Below fighters towards Brazilians within the present’s prelim portion.

However Ramos wasn’t able to concede.

He managed his solely takedown of the combat with 90 seconds left, and, although he was unable to close a submission or land vital strikes from the place, it was sufficient to sway judges Mark Christie and Mick Meany into giving him the third spherical and thus a break up choice with which Culibao didn’t agree.

Decide Ben Cartlidge noticed it for Culibao and the B/R card was on his aspect, too, giving him the third and a 29-28 edge with it. It was Culibao’s fourth loss in eight UFC fights (3-4-1) and it ended a two-fight skid for Ramos and lifted him to 8-5.

It wasn’t your backyard selection knockout.

However that does not imply Jack Jenkins is not pleased to have scored it.

The 30-year-old Australian featherweight punished Brazilian rival Herbert Burns in each conceivable style throughout the primary 10 minutes of their scheduled three-rounder, but it surely was a particular mixture of injury that ended it early within the third.

Jenkins, who’s already damaged the legs of three earlier opponents with kicks, blasted Burns with one more to the left calf within the opening seconds of the third, then adopted with a left hook to the physique and an overhand proper to the top that dumped his foe to the mat.

A sequence of floor strikes adopted earlier than Jenkins, conscious of Burns’ means to chase submissions on the ground, properly stood up and invited Burns to rise and resume the fight. However the stricken 36-year-old was unable to face as he shifted to place weight on his left aspect and referee Marc Goddard stepped in to wave it off after 48 seconds.

“I put within the work to get again right here,” mentioned Jenkins, who broke an arm throughout a TKO loss to Chepe Mariscal final September. “Folks depend you out, however I used to be like, ‘F–k that, I am right here to win.’”

It is already a troublesome option to make a dwelling.

However getting punched, kicked and choked has obtained to really feel much more arduous when different issues – like profession momentum and worldwide journey – are going towards you, too.

That is the fact for the one two People on Saturday’s present, Ricky Glenn and Alex Reyes, a pair of fellows of their mid/late 30s – neither of whom has gained a combat within the final three years – who traveled greater than 20,000 mixed miles to take hellacious beatings towards both locally-based or close by competitors.

Glenn, a 37-year-old from Iowa, left with cuts round his eyes and a tennis-ball-sized lump on his brow after a large choice loss to China’s Music Kenan. On the similar time, Reyes, a 35-year-old from northern California, was overwhelmed from fencepost to fencepost whereas dropping almost each second of a three-rounder towards Brisbane-based Tom Nolan.

Glenn has gone 0-3-1 since defeating Joaquim Silva in June 2021 and Reyes has been trying to find a win for even longer, going 0-3 within the UFC since beating Gil Guardado within the Battle Membership OC promotion on Aug. 24, 2017.

Effectively, a lot for zeroes.

Flyweight Stewart Nicoll was wide-eyed and excited to make his UFC debut as the one unbeaten fighter amongst 24 on the 12-bout card — and he had some moments early towards rugged Mexican rival Jesus Aguilar — however the thrills did not final for lengthy.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt obtained Aguilar to the bottom and appeared poised to chase his fourth profession submission. Nonetheless, he was quickly shaken off by his 28-year-old and located himself on the fallacious finish of a end, going to sleep through guillotine choke inside three minutes.

Aguilar had gained eight straight fights upon reaching the octagon for the primary time and getting completed in lower than a spherical by Tatsuro Taira simply 18 months in the past.

He’d gained two in a row since, although, and was unfazed by his function as a heavy underdog this time, immediately seizing Nicoll’s neck after scrambling off the ground and in the end drawing referee Steve Perceval’s wave-off at 2:39.

Nicoll, the promotion’s first fighter from the Solomon Islands, fell to 8-1 whereas Aguilar gained a 3rd straight to get to 11-2.

Primary Card

Dricus Du Plessis def. Israel Adesanya by submission (rear-naked choke), 3:38, Spherical 4

Kai Kara-France def. Steve Erceg by TKO (punches), 4:04, Spherical 1

Dan Hooker def. Mateusz Gamrot by break up choice (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Tai Tuivasa by break up choice (29-28, 27-30, 30-27)

Carlos Prates def. Li Jingliang by KO (punch), 4:02, Spherical 2

Preliminary Card

Valter Walker def. Junior Tafa by verbal submission (heel hook), 4:56, Spherical 1

Ricardo Ramos def. Josh Culibao by break up choice (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Casey O’Neill def. Luana Santos by unanimous choice (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Jack Jenkins def. Herbert Burns by TKO (punches), 0:48, Spherical 3

Early Preliminary Card

Tom Nolan def. Alex Reyes by unanimous choice (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Music Kenan def. Ricky Glenn by unanimous choice (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)

Jesus Aguilar def. Stewart Nicoll by submission (guillotine choke), 2:39, Spherical 1