Nobody handles adversity better than Dricus du Plessis. In fact, he seems to thrive from it.
The 30-year-old South African boxer defended his undisputed UFC middleweight title in style, defeating Israel Adesanya via rear-naked choke in the main event of UFC 305 on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC), who had never been submitted before, raised the white flag in surrender 3 minutes, 36 seconds into the fourth round.
Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) overcame considerable obstacles to reach the finish line. Adesanya targeted his body with two-handed hooks and well-timed kicks, attacked his legs when the going got tough, and put together some exciting combinations to the head. Du Plessis didn’t run away. The Team CIT representative landed multiple takedowns (he threatened Adesanya’s neck in the first round in a foreshadowing of what was to come) and landed some hard punches to the head. Midway through the fourth round, du Plessis forced “The Last Stylebender” into a backwards position, dropping him to the mat with three straight right punches. He quickly jumped back, setting up hooks and tightening the choke before Adesanya could fight back.
Meanwhile, Adesanya’s longtime companion, Kai Kara-France, bounced back from consecutive losses to Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi by knocking out former Eternal MMA titleholder Steve Erceg with punches in the first round of the flyweight co-main event. Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) earned the win 4:04 into the first round.
Erceg (12-3, 3-2 UFC) put the New Zealander on the back foot early with some distance-finding jabs. But it didn’t matter. Kara-France came forward and dropped the Wilkes Martial Arts representative with a devastating left hook. He followed up with punches and escaped a takedown attempt, allowing Erceg to return to an upright position. Kara-France then backed him up against the fence and delivered a devastating right cross that dropped “Astro Boy” to a seated position, forcing him into a defensive shell while avoiding contact. More punches followed before referee Rich Mitchell arrived on the scene to call the bout an end.
The win was Kara-France’s first since March 26, 2022.
Further down the field, City Kickboxing favourite Dan Hooker defeated former KSW two-division champion Mateusz Gamrot by split decision in a three-round lightweight showcase, with all three cageside judges scoring the fight 29-28 for Gamrot, while Ben Cartlidge and Mark Christie gave the win to Hooker.
Gamrot (24-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) initially held his own in the stand-up exchange, taking “The Hangman” to his knees with a counter overhand right in the first round. He took top position and launched a ferocious ground-and-pound onslaught, but couldn’t break Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC). From there, it was back and forth. Hooker, with a badly swollen face and bleeding from multiple cuts, managed to thwart takedown attempts with an effective sprawl, a constantly threatening guillotine choke, and sharp elbows to the side of the head. The result was a fierce back-and-forth battle until the end. In the final five minutes, the two men traded blows, but neither gave much ground. Hooker’s ability to thwart takedown attempts and pile on damage while doing so was probably what made the difference.
Hooker will enter his next bout on a three-fight win streak.
Meanwhile, American Top Team’s Jairzinho Rozenstruik used a powerful jab, devastating leg kicks and a barrage of tactical power punches to earn a split decision victory over Tai Tuivasa in a three-round heavyweight bout. Judges Charlie Keach and David Lethaby scored the bout 29-28 and 30-27 for Rozenstruik, while Howie Booth scored Tuivasa a surprising 30-27 scorecard.
Rozenstruik (15-5, 9-5 UFC) fought at his own pace and inflicted significant damage on his opponent, leaving him with a cut near his right eye and another on the bridge of his nose. Tuivasa (14-8, 8-8 UFC) picked up the pace after a slow start, but was no match for the Surinamese kickboxer’s skill. After engaging in some intense back-and-forth action, Rozenstruik was undefeated and ended the bout with an extended lead.
Tuivasa has not won since February 2022 and has lost five straight matches.
Finally, Fighting Nerds star Carlos Pratts knocked out Jing-Liang Li with punches in the second round of their welterweight undercard bout. The historically tough Li (19-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC) was knocked out 4 minutes and 2 seconds into the second round, suffering the first knockout loss of his 28-fight career.
Prates (20-6, 3-0 UFC) was spot on with his points. He chipped away at Lee’s defense in the first five minutes, attacking his base with low kicks and repeatedly dropping his knees with clean punches to the head. Prates stuck to his methodical approach in the middle rounds, eventually sinking a rep of the Kill Cliff Fight Club with a ferocious one-two. The Brazilian kept up the chase, landing nearly every punch he threw and finishing Lee with a final left hook. It couldn’t have been more efficient.
The 31-year-old Prates has won 10 straight bouts, with the last nine coming by knockout.
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