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 be pulling ahead ever so slightly, du Plessis landed some hard strikes before taking his back and forcing the tap with a rear naked choke.
After a fiery build-up, the pair buried the hatchet following the bout.
MORE: UFC 305: All the results from the prelims to the main event
“This man has done so much for this sport,” Du Plessis said after the fight.
“I’m really sorry that it came across that I disrespected the fact that he’s from Africa, it was never my intention.
“Tonight, Africa would have won regardless but tonight, South Africa was the victor. It was an honour for me to share the cage with a legend like that. I have the utmost respect for him, warrior to warrior.
“I do not want to be kicked by that man again.”
There had been some suggestion that Adesanya would retire on a loss but the former two-time champion shot down that notion.
“I’m disappointed in myself but at the same time, I’m proud because this was the best I’ve ever felt, the best I’ve ever looked, I just had the better man on the night and I’ll give him respect for that,” Adesanya said.
“I know all your motherf—ers want to see me lose, want to see me down but watch this, I’m not f—in’ leaving!”
In the chief support, Kai Kara-France added another first-round knockout to his record and potentially booked himself into a world title fight with a statement victory 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 hard right hand to finish the job shortly after.
Earlier, Dan Hooker pulled off an upset split-decision victory over Mateusz Gamrot, mixing up his diverse striking with sharp defensive grappling to knock off the no. 5 ranked lightweight.
At heavyweight, Jairzinho Rozenstruik proved too accurate and skilled for a slightly gun-shy Tai Tuivasa, who slipped to a fifth-straight defeat, this time via a rather confounding split decision which saw the dissenting judge relieved of his duties for the remainder of the card.
Meanwhile, Carlos Prates scored an eye-catching KO of Li Jingliang, the first such defeat of the Chinese fighter’s career, to announce himself as a force at welterweight.
Take a look at how it all went down below:
UFC 305 results and updates
Dricus du Plessis defeats Israel Adesanya
Round 4: More body work forces du Plessis to change levels but Adesanya stuffs it. Adesanya comfortable when du Plessis stands in front of him. The champion may need to get more aggressive here but does he have the gas tank after all the body shots? Du Plessis lands three big shots back-to-back then takes his back and chokes him out via rear naked choke! IT'S ALL OVER!!!
Round 3: Adesanya goes to the body nicely with his opponent shelled up but wears one to the head coming back the other way. More body work with a kick and a hook slows DDP down. Adesanya seems to find the target with a spinning elbow but du Plessis goes upstairs and lands moments later. The striking is getting a little sloppier on both sides now. Another challenger round by a whisker to make it 29-28 Adesanya
Round 2: Great level change by Du Plessis gets Adesanya down after a brief scramble, before the champ gets to work on a submission but gives up the position to see them back on the feet. Adesanya then gets busy with the hands and appears to hurt du Plessis but the South African ends up on his back. Some nasty work in the clinch from behind for du Plessis scores. Another close one but the control time makes it 19-19 on our card
Round 1: A fascinating opener as both fighters look to implement their gameplans without getting too reckless. Adesanya opens up a small cut on the champion's head with a knee and has some success at range with kicks. Du Plessis lands with the hands as he blitzes, mixing up with high kicks nicely. Close round but perhaps a 10-9 Adesanya
Kai Kara-France defeats Steve Erceg
Kara-France has kept the good run going for City Kickboxing with a vicious knockout of local boy Erceg.
The Kiwi landed a left shot which caused Erceg to collapse to the canvas before he finished the job moments later with a right cross which shut out Erceg's lights and claim his 13th finish in the first round.
The defeat is Erceg's second in a row after the West Aussie lost to Pantoja in May.
Dan Hooker defeats Mateusz Gamrot
What a war!
We've come to expect nothing less from Hooker and this one delivered in spades.
Both fighters were hurt on occasions and enjoyed periods of momentum, on the feet and in the grappling exchanges.
In the end, Hooker did enough to get the nod on two judges' cards and relieve Gamrot of his no. 5 ranking.
1:33pm AEST: Booth was scheduled to judge the co-main event but was pulled from the role following his card in the previous fight.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik defeats Tai Tuivasa
It was a fight which promised fireworks but this heavyweight clash didn't quite deliver.
Rozenstruik eventually took a split decision (29-28, 30-27, 27-30), although the judge who scored all three rounds for Tuivasa, Howie Booth, ought to be made to explain his rationale.
While Tuivasa was game as always, Rozenstruik was clearly busier and more accurate and did enough to claim a fairly comfortable victory.
Carlos Prates defeats Li Jingliang
Prates became the first man to knock "The Leech" out and he did it in devastating fashion.
Having put on a striking clinic through most of the opening two rounds and some change, Prates landed a bomb of a left hand which sent Li slumping forward and made for a concerning few moments as he lay unconscious on the mat.
On his birthday, Prates called for a bonus and he may well earn himself a ranked opponent as well.
Valter Walker defeats Junior Tafa
Controversy and boos erupt around the arena as Walker scores a first-round victory via technical submission.
With seconds remaining in the opening round, Tafa briefly screamed out in pain as the pair grappled, with referee Steve Perceval deeming that amounted to a verbal submission from the Queenslander.
Tafa wasn't happy afterwards either as he tried to confront the winner in the octagon before being separated.
Walker calls for his next fight to be against Junior's brother, Justin.
Ricardo Ramos defeats Josh Culibao
Ramos claims a split decision over Culibao after surviving a vicious onslaught from the Aussie in the second round.
Ramos had numerous attempts to finish the fight on the ground in the first round but couldn't get the job done, before Culibao had the best of it in the second.
In the end, the third round went Ramos' way in the opinion of two judges to claim the victory.
Casey O'Neill defeats Luana Santos
The good times keep rolling on for the Aussies early on as O'Neill claims an unanimous decision victory over Santos.
In a tentative fight where neither fighter was able to inflict too much damage, O'Neill came out well on top on the scorecards.
Jack Jenkins defeats Herbert Burns
Another win on the board for the locals with Jenkins stopping Burns in the third round.
"Phar Jack" is renowned for his brutal low kicks and they were on full display, leaving Burns on the mat on several occasions before a right hand early in the third dropped him before some ground and pound finished the job.
Tom Nolan defeats Alex Reyes
Nolan gets the Australians on the board with a classy victory over a tough and durable Reyes.
"Big Train" had the edge in the striking exchanges and remained calm in the face of some tricky offence from the experiences Reyes.
Song Kenan defeats Ricky Glenn
Kenan ensured Glenn's winless run was extended with a hard-fought unanimous decision win.
Glenn fought most of the bout with significant swelling on the side of his head following an early elbow.
Jesus Aguilar defeats Stewart Nicoll
Brisbane native Stewart Nicoll was given the honour of opening the card but couldn't keep his perfect professional record intact in the first bout of his UFC career as he fell to a submission loss in the very first round against Jesus Aguilar.
What time is UFC 305? Schedule and start time for PPV card and main event
UFC 305 is on Sunday, August 18. The early prelims start at 8:30am AEST, with the prelims at 10am AEST. The main card is at 12 pm AEST. Du Plessis and Adesanya should make their way to the octagon around 2:15 pm AEST, depending on how long the undercard fights last.
Here's how that schedule corresponds with other timezones around the world:
| Local time (AWST) | AEST | ET | PT | GMT | |
| Early prelims | 6:30am | 8:30am | 6:30pm | 3:30pm | 11:30pm |
| Prelims | 8:00am | 10:00am | 8:00pm | 5:00pm | 1:00am |
| Main card | 10:00am | 12:00pm | 10:00pm | 7:00pm | 3:00am |
| Main event (approx.) | 12:15pm | 2:15pm | 12:15am | 9:15pm | 5:15am |
UFC 305 fight card
Main Card
- Dricus du Plessis (c) def. Israel Adesanya via 4th Round Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
- Kai Kara-France def. Steve Erceg via 1st Round KO
- Mateusz Gamrot def. by Dan Hooker via Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
- Tai Tuivasa def. by Jairzinho Rozenstruik via Split Decision (29-28, 30-27, 27-30)
- Li Jingliang def. by Carlos Prates via 2nd Round KO
Prelims
- Junior Tafa def. by Valter Walker via 1st Round Submission (Technical)
- Josh Culibao def. by Ricardo Ramos via Split Decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
- Casey O'Neill def. Luana Santos via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x 2, 30-26)
- Jack Jenkins def. Herbert Burns via 3rd Round TKO
Early Prelims
- Tom Nolan def. Alex Reyes via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
- Song Kenan def. Ricky Glenn via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
- Stewart Nicoll def. by Jesus Aguilar via 3rd Round Submission (Guillotine)