A 12-fight card at UFC 305 in Perth, Western Australia, was headlined by a middleweight title matchup between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. While Du Plessis retained his crown in a fourth-round submission victory, other stars such as Kai Kara-France and Dan Hooker had big performances as well. To make sense of it all, Brett Okamoto, Andreas Hale and Sam Bruce offer their final thoughts.
Hale: What could have been a legendary champion coming to reclaim his throne ended up being the coronation for the new king of the middleweights.
Dricus Du Plessis silenced the naysayers by submitting Israel Adesanya in the fourth round to retain the UFC middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 305 at the RAC Arena.
For the past few years, the South African appeared at times to be technically flawed in the Octagon but managed to find a way to win. His striking often looked off balance and his cardio was always in question. Still, Du Plessis rumbled up the middleweight ladder with win after win and claimed UFC gold by beating Sean Strickland in January. However, it wasn't until he faced the man who has long been considered one of the greatest middleweights of all time that he would get the credit he deserved.
Du Plessis passed the test with flying colors by doing what he always does. He was explosive with his striking and used brute force to pressure Adesanya to the ground when necessary. And when it felt like the fight was getting away from him in the fourth round, he dug deep to put together a finishing sequence that saw him become the first fighter to submit Adesanya and cement himself as a reigning champion in a thrilling title fight.
Much has to be said about Du Plessis entering hostile territory in an emotionally charged fight and leaving the Octagon with the championship gold still in his possession. UFC 305 was loaded with fighters from the region and Du Plessis was the odd man out, even though he was the champion. It didn't matter. He was undeterred and welcomed the challenge.
As for Adesanya, his future isn't entirely clear. He's not retiring, but at 35, where does he go from here? He remains the only man to beat Alex Pereira in the UFC and there could be an appetite for a rematch. Does he hang around at 185 and attempt to climb the ladder again? Is he still as good as he was when he tore up the middleweight division from 2019 to 2023?
There are more questions than answers for the former champion, who lost two consecutive fights for the first time in his career. With Du Plessis, he's answering questions with each victorious outing.
One thing is certain: While it is not always pretty, it is effective. Nobody has figured it out and his current run of turning back Robert Whittaker (TKO), Strickland (decision) and now Adesanya (submission) is one of the more impressive runs in the sport.
Will people finally give him his respect? They should. He earned it with his performance in Perth.
He turned back an incensed Adesanya, who appeared to be refreshed and energized after taking 11 months off. He overcame adversity and dug deep to take the title back to South Africa. According to UFC CEO Dana White, a rematch with Strickland appears next. Should he get past Strickland, a few new challengers could make their way into title contention (Khamzat Chimaev, Brendan Allen ... and maybe Pereira?) and test the champion.
For now, Du Plessis' style will always have people believing he can be beaten, but until someone does, "Stillknocks" remains the king of the 185-pound division.
No more overlooking Kai Kara-France
Okamoto: The disrespect to Kara-France in the buildup to this fight was wild.
It wasn't anyone saying anything negative about Kai Kara-France; they just weren't saying anything at all. It felt like this flyweight fight was being overlooked, for one. And secondly, anything that was said about it was mainly on the side of Steve Erceg. Erceg was a significant betting favorite, and the sport was still enamored with how he competed against flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 in May.
And for good reason. Erceg was one bad decision away from very likely winning the UFC flyweight title and doing it against a top 10 pound-for-pound candidate in Pantoja. But that was his last fight -- not this fight -- and it felt like the sport believed this was his fight to lose.
Kara-France had 12 first-round finishes coming into this fight. He's the only fighter to defeat Askar Askarov, and he did it as a more than 3-to-1 betting underdog. He probably should have beaten Amir Albazi in their five-rounder last year, when he was arguably robbed on the scorecards. He's an intelligent flyweight with arguably the most power in the division and no glaring holes. Why was he such an underdog to Erceg on Saturday, an opponent who has a fraction of his experience at the top level?
He might get overlooked because he's soft-spoken, and to be fair, he has lost some of his bigger fights that would have solidified him as elite in the eyes of most observers. Let this win be that though, because Kara-France shouldn't be overlooked moving forward.
Aussie and Kiwi stars shine in Perth
Bruce: Away from the main and co-main bouts, the pick of the other local results went the way of Dan Hooker, Jack Jenkins and Tom Nolan, while there was another tough defeat for a crowd favorite in Tai Tuivasa.
After Aussie Stewart Nicoll was scarily submitted in the card's first fight, Nolan turned in an accomplished performance to defeat Alex Reyes by unanimous decision. The Queenslander worked a mixture of kicks, elbows and punches, opening up a cut on Reyes' left cheek along the way, as he powered to two 30-27 scorecards as part of a unanimous decision victory.
Nolan has produced back-to-back wins after he was a loser in his UFC debut to Nikolas Motta and now looks ready for a step up in quality for his next featherweight opponent.
Jenkins, meanwhile, looked superb on his return from an almost one-year layoff following a dislocated elbow at UFC 284 last year, as he recorded his maiden UFC finish with a complete domination of Herbert Burns.
At times, Burns looked more focused on delivering his best impression of infamous Australian Olympic breakdancer "Raygun" rather than engaging with the up-tempo Jenkins. But the Aussie eventually ran out of patience to finish the bout with a flurry of blows early in Round 3. He is now eyeing another fight later in the year, even if it means he misses Derby Day on Nov. 2, the biggest day on Australia's horse racing calendar and a favorite for those living in Melbourne, as Jenkins does.
And then there was Hooker, for whom fighting is never dull. The Kiwi got the City Kickboxing trio off to the perfect start after a spectacular three-round contest, Hooker earning a split decision win, his third triumph in succession.
Takedown defense was central to Hooker's victory after he had spent a chunk of time on his back on the canvas in Round 1 and then again early in Round 2. As the fight wore on, he turned defense into attack, delivering far more punishment when the fight returned to the feet.
Hooker was later taken to hospital for a CT scan for his head and face, but a third straight win at lightweight, and his 14th in the UFC overall -- ensures he remains a part of the title picture at lightweight.
"I want them all. I want BMF, I want Conor, I want title eliminator," Hooker said postfight to the roars of RAC Arena.