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: Live updates, results and highlights from UFC 305
“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 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 1st Round Submission (Guillotine)
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 | BST | |
| 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 |