2024-08-18 08:40:02
The UFC is Down Under this weekend.
UFC 305 sees fighters throwing down at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Saturday night — at least that’s when Americans will be watching. The actual fighting will begin Sunday morning on the ground in Western Australia.
This card is loaded with Aussies and features an intriguing main event: Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis defending his title for the first time against former champ Israel Adesanya, who figures to have the crowd behind him. There’s no shortage of bad blood in this matchup.
Follow along with USA TODAY Sports for all the results and highlights from UFC 305:
What. A. Knockout.
Carlos Prates’ power devastated Li Jingliang, who was knocked out for the first time in his career.
The killshot had been building over two rounds. After a measured start to this welterweight bout, Prates began tagging Li, dropping Li multiple times in the first round. Prates continued to rock Li in the second round, eventually getting him on the run and pressed up against the cage. Another strong left hook finally did Li in.
It wouldn’t be a UFC event without some controversy! The final preliminary bout of the night, a heavyweight fight between Junior Tafa and Valter Walker, was stopped by the referee at 4:56 of the first round. Tafa was not happy about the stoppage.
Walker had gotten Tafa’s leg in a pretty nasty-looking heel hook. We can deduce that it hurt, because Tafa cried out in pain. It’s what brought the stoppage. (An “involuntary scream” falls under the UFC’s verbal tap guidelines.)
Regardless, Tafa was immediately peeved, and he eventually got in Walker’s face to exchange some words. He even lightly slapped Walker.
Tafa then bobbed his middle finger as the decision, a technical submission victory for Walker, was announced.
This felt like our closest bout of the night, and the scorecards reflected that. Brazil’s Ricardo Ramos ended the run of Australian winners with a split-decision victory over Josh Culibao (two judges scored it 29-28 Ramos, one had 29-28 Culibao.)
Both fighters had moments in the first round, with Culibao appearing to hurt Ramos. But perhaps Culibao was a bit over-aggressive in his pursuit and the fight went to the ground — and Culibao soon found himself in major trouble. Ramos appeared to be on the verge of choking Culibao out, but Culibao found a way to survive after considerable struggle. But then Culibao appeared to have the initiative in the second round, even showing off a bit by hitting a pirouette at one point.
Ramos came out strong in the third, though, bloodying Culibao’s face a little and gaining some more time in control on the ground. Two of the judges awarded him the round for his efforts — and that earned him the win in the featherweight fight.
Casey O’Neill appeared to channel Raygun, the Australian breakdancer who went viral during the Paris Olympics breaking competition, while celebrating her win over Luana Santos at UFC 305.
The Australians are rolling now. Casey O’Neill made it three wins in a row for the home country fighters, scoring a 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 unanimous decision victory over Luana Santos in their women’s flyweight fight. O’Neill was in control throughout and might have gotten a submission in the final round if time had not expired.
O’Neill’s victory gets her back on track. After a 9-0 start to her pro MMA career, O’Neill lost both her fights in 2023.
We have another stoppage! Jack Jenkins defeated Herbert Burns via TKO at 0:48 of the third round.
When this featherweight fight was on the feet, Jenkins dominated. He pummeled Burns, repeatedly landing painful body shots. The only way Burns survived was by shooting for takedowns. It’s a well he went to a lot.
In the end, it was a kick that set the stage for Jenkins’ victory. The Australian’s kick to Burns’ leg hurt the Brazilian, who soon crumpled to the mat under Jenkins’ onslaught. After some ground and pound, Jenkins backed off to let Burns up. Burns was unable to rise. Fight over.
We have our first Australian winner of the night!
Tom Nolan was a massive favorite for this lightweight bout against Alex Reyes but for the first time in his UFC career, one of his fights went the distance. Nolan controlled the action, though, and secured a unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). After an uneven start, which included eating an illegal knee in the first round, Nolan began to take over in the second round. He seemed close to securing a submission win in the third round, but Reyes stayed alive.
The punching power of Song Kenan was on full display in his unanimous decision victory over Ricky Glenn (30-27, 30-26, 29-28). Perhaps the only surprising thing about this welterweight bout is it went the distance, and credit to Glenn for that.
Glenn actually got off to a good start, but Song soon took over, teeing off on the American with rapid flurries of punches. Glenn appeared to be staggered multiple times, and his face was left a battered mess. A fairly big hematoma also sprouted on the right side of his head.
Getting choked out at 6:45 a.m. has to be quite the experience.
Jesus Aguilar slept Stewart Nicoll in the first round with an expert guillotine choke, drawing the stoppage at 2:39. The only blemish with Aguilar’s win over the Australian in the short-but-eventful flyweight bout: he missed weight by 1.5 pounds.
Stewart Nicoll and Jesus Aguilar are in the ring at RAC Arena! Presumably the crowd will fill out throughout these preliminary bouts. After all, it’s not quite 7 a.m. there yet.
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya (middleweight championship bout)
Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg (flyweight)
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker (lightweight)
Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (heavyweight)
Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates (welterweight)
Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker (heavyweight)
Josh Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos (featherweight)
Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos (women’s flyweight)
Jack Jenkins vs. Herbert Burns (featherweight)
Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes (lightweight)
Song Kenan vs. Ricky Glenn (welterweight)
Stewart Nicoll vs. Jesus Aguilar (flyweight)
The early prelims and prelims will be broadcast on TV on ESPN, with a live stream available via ESPN+. The pay-per-view main event can be purchased and streamed through ESPN+.
The UFC 305 pay-per-view can be purchased through ESPN+ (which requires a subscription) for $79.99.
All odds are for moneyline bets:
Dricus Du Plessis (-105) vs. Israel Adesanya (-115)
Kai Kara-France (+155) vs. Steve Erceg (-190)
Mateusz Gamrot (-375) vs. Dan Hooker (+300)
Tai Tuivasa (+195) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (-250)
Li Jingliang (+300) vs. Carlos Prates (-400)
Junior Tafa (-120) vs. Valter Walker (+100)
Josh Culibao (-140) vs. Ricardo Ramos (+115)
Casey O’Neill (+125) vs. Luana Santos (-150)
Jack Jenkins (-800) vs. Herbert Burns (+550)
Tom Nolan (-1200) vs. Alex Reyes (+750)
Song Kenan (-210) vs. Ricky Glenn (+170)
Stewart Nicoll (-210) vs. Jesus Aguilar (+175)
| Dricus Du Plessis | vs. | Israel Adesanya |
| 21-2-0 | Record | 24-3-0 |
| South Africa | Country | Nigeria |
| 6-foot-1 | Height | 6-foot-4 |
| 200.2 pounds | Weight | 201 pounds |
| 76 inches | Reach | 80 inches |
| 43 inches | Leg reach | 44.5 inches |
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UFC 305 live updates: Du Plessis vs Adesanya fight card results, stream
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