UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis will try to defend his title against two-time champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 on Saturday night at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Adesanya has not fought since last September, while du Plessis is coming off a split-decision win at UFC 292 in January. Adesanya is the -120 favorite (risk $120 to win $100) in the UFC 305 odds, as he aims to win the title for a third time. Which fighter should you back with your UFC 305 bets?
Saturday's main card begins at 10 p.m. ET, while the prelims begin at 8 p.m. ET. Other bouts on the card include Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg (-190) in a flyweight showdown, and Mateusz Gamrot (-440) vs. Dan Hooker in the lightweight division. Before making any UFC 305 picks or entering any UFC prop bets on sites like PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy, or Sleeper Fantasy, make sure you see the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Daniel Vithlani.
Vithlani made his SportsLine debut in January 2023 and swept the main card for UFC 283 with a 5-0 record and has been a consistent winner ever since. Over the past 13 UFC pay-per-view events, Vithlani has gone 10-6 on main-card picks and his selections in that span have netted his followers a profit of more than $1,200.
His highlights include predicting an upset for Sean O'Malley (+210) against Aljamain Sterling (-250) at UFC 292 as part of a 4-1 main card and his UFC 299 winners included underdog selections on Poirier (+190) against Saint Denis (-230) and Michael Page (+110) against Kevin Holland (-130). Anyone who has followed him has seen massive returns.
Now, with UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya on deck, Vithlani has studied the UFC fight card from top to bottom and released his top selections. You can only see those picks at SportsLine.
UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya preview
Adesanya ruled the middleweight division for three-and-a-half years, beginning with winning the interim UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 236 in April 2019 and then becoming the unified champion at UFC 243 in October of that year. He began his UFC career 23-1, with the only loss coming when he stepped up in weight class to challenge Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title in March 2021. Adesanya owns the second-longest win streak in UFC Middleweight division history (12), a streak which came to an end when he lost the belt to Alex Pereira in Nov. 2022 via TKO.
While Adesanya would win the title back in a rematch five months later -- thus becoming the only two-time UFC Middleweight champion in promotion history -- The Last Stylebender would then lose the title in an ensuing bout to Sean Strickland. Du Plessis would then defeat Strickland in Jan. 2024 for his first UFC Championship. The South African fighter is undefeated in his UFC career (7-0) as part of an overall nine-match win streak.
Du Plessis (21-2) has a much more varied arsenal than Adesanya (24-3) as the latter has never had any of his 27 career fights decided by submission. Adesanya has a kickboxing background and is tied with Anderson Silva for the most knockdowns (13) in UFC Middleweight division history. As for Du Plessis, he has 10 wins via submission in his career, nine via knockout and two by way of decision as he has backgrounds in judo, wrestling, BJJ and kickboxing.
For the tale of the tape, du Plessis is five years younger and doesn't have the wear and tear that Adesanya has, as the former champ also has over 80 pro boxing and kickboxing fights on his resume. However, Adesanya has the edge in measureables, standing three inches taller with four-inch reach and 1.5-inch leg reach advantages. Both fighters are near each other in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings as du Plessis enters UFC 305 ranked No. 11 in the promotion, while Adesanya is ranked No. 13. You can see more UFC 305 picks at SportsLine.
UFC 305 predictions
We'll share one of Vithlani's UFC 305 selections here: He is backing Jairzinho Rozenstruik (-250) to get the win over Tai Tuivasa (+205) in a heavyweight clash on the main card. Tuivasa's career has gone downhill following his second-round knockout of Derrick Lewis in 2022. He has lost four fights in a row since then, getting finished before the completion of the bout each time.
Rozenstruik is not only just as strong as Tuivasa, but he also has better conditioning and defense. He delivers his best punches when countering, and Tuivasa has been struggling to disguise his shots. Tuivasa has sustained too many injuries in recent years for Vithlani to consider backing him in this bout.
"Tuivasa's best chance is to rush Rozenstruik with a blitz of punches and catch him with a looping shot. While that certainly is possible, I feel Tuivasa has sustained too much damage to trust against a measured striker like Rozenstruik," Vithlani told SportsLine. You can see more UFC 305 picks at SportsLine.
How to make UFC 305 picks
Vithlani has strong picks for du Plessis vs. Adesanya and other bouts on the UFC 305 card. He's also backing an underdog who "is the much more dangerous striker" to emerge with a huge victory. Those picks and his full analysis are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins UFC 305: du Plessis vs. Adesanya, and which UFC props should you target? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on UFC Fight Night, all from the MMA expert who profited more than $1,200 on UFC main-card picks, and find out.
UFC 305 odds, fight card
See full UFC 305 picks, predictions, best bets here.
Dricus du Plessis (+100) vs. Israel Adesanya (-120)
Kai Kara-France (+160) vs. Steve Erceg (-190)
Mateusz Gamrot (-440) vs. Dan Hooker (+340)
Tai Tuivasa vs. (+205) Jairzinho Rozenstruik (-250)
Li Jingliang (+275) vs. Carlos Prates (-350)
Junior Tafa (-130) vs. Valter Walker (+110)
Joshua Culibao (-140) vs. Ricardo Ramos (+118)
Casey O'Neill (+125) vs. Luana Santos (-150)
Jack Jenkins (-700) vs. Herbert Burns (+500)
Tom Nolan (-1200) vs. Alex Reyes (+750)
Song Kenan (-170) vs. Ricky Glenn (+143)
Stewart Nicoll (-240) vs. Jesús Santos Aguilar (+200)
