Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya -- Round 4: Adesanya with a hard uppercut early in the round followed by a leg kick du Plessis shot for a takedown but it wasn't there and Adesanya stepped back and forced him to stand again. Adesanya kept going to the body with punches and kicks as du Plessis seemed to slow down considerably. A du Plessis right hand landed d well but Adesanya slipped a left hand moments later. du Plessis landed a good body kick. Adesanya got the best of an exchange between the two men, including a hard check hook. du Plessis landed a good left hook. A du Plessis right hand hurt Adesanya and a trio of right hands landed for du Plessis and he took Adesanya's back, locked in the rear-naked choke and forced Adesanya to tap. Adesanya had all the momentum and it shifted in a matter of seconds. Official result: Dricus du Plessis def. Israel Adesanya via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 4
UFC 305 results, highlights: Dricus du Plessis scores late submission of Israel Adesanya to retain title
The pair of top middleweights produced an exciting back-and-forth affair before 'DDP' secured the finish
After a lengthy rivalry, the UFC 305 main event between UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and two-time former champion Israel Adesanya did not disappoint. After near-constant back-and-forth action between the two, du Plessis scored a rear-naked choke in the fourth round to retain his title.
Both men had success at various points throughout the fight, with Adesanya being especially effective with punches and kicks to the body. It was a see-saw battle where whoever was on the front foot had the other on the defensive.
For much of the fight it appeared Adesanya had recaptured his effective style that left du Plessis trying to catch up in the striking game while also negating takedowns from the champion.
That all shifted in the fourth round. As Adesanya appeared as though he might be pulling away with the fight, du Plessis charged forward and landed a right hand. More right hands followed along the cage before du Plessis dragged Adesanya to the floor and quickly locked in a rear-naked choke to force the tap.
The finish came at the 3:38 mark of Round 4. It was du Plessis' first title defense since winning the title from Sean Strickland, the man who ended Adesanya's second title reign, at UFC 297 in January.
The oft-ugly rivalry between South African du Plessis and the Nigerian-born Adesanya, who fights out of his adopted home of New Zealand, had taken some ugly turns over the past year, including du Plessis claiming to be the "real African" in the feud. The two appeared to bury the hatchet after the fight.
"For me, to share this Octagon with a legend -- not potentially but a guaranteed Hall of Famer -- this man has done so much for this sport," du Plessis said. "I'm sorry I disrespected, no matter what happened tonight, the fight would have been won by an African. Believe me, I do not want to be kicked by that man again."
Adesanya gave du Plessis respect but blamed the loss on his own mistakes.
"To be honest, as tough as I already knew it was, he was going to be tough to crack and put away," Adesanya said. "I was able to resist his takedowns but I made a stupid mistake. ... Again, I didn't do what I wanted to do tonight and I'm disappointed in myself. This was the best I've ever felt and the best I've ever looked but I ran into the better fighter tonight."
Adesanya also put any thought of retirement after the loss to bed after the fight, saying, "I'm not f---ing leaving. I'm not f---ing leaving."
The undercard saw some tremendous action. Kai Kara-France returned from his own layoff to score a stunning first-round knockout of Steve Erceg at flyweight. Kara-France, who challenged for the interim title in 2023, pushed his name right back to the top of the contender's list after the win over Erceg, who was coming off a competitive decision loss to Alexandre Pantoja for the full title in May. Plus, Dan Hooker turned back the clock to score a massive upset over Mateusz Gamrot. Hooker, who had also been out of action for over a year, ran his win streak to three with the split-decision effort in which he dropped the rising contender multiple times. And rising prospect Carlos Prates should what a massive talent he could be with a stunning knockout of Li Jingliang to open the PPV. It was the first time in Jingliang's long career that he had been knocked out.
CBS Sports was with you the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the UFC 305 below.
UFC 305 card, results
- Dricus du Plessis (c) def. Israel Adesanya via fourth-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Kai Kara-France def. Steve Erceg via first-round knockout (punch)
- Dan Hooker def. Mateusz Gamrot via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Tai Tuivasa via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 30-27)
- Carlos Prates def. Li Jingliang via second-round knockout (punch)
- Valter Walker def. Junior Tafa via first-round technical submission (heel hook)
- Ricardo Ramos def. Josh Culibao via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Casey O'Neill def. Luana Santos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Jack Jenkins def. Herbert Burns via third-round TKO (calf kicks)
- Tom Nolan def. Alex Reyes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Song Kenan def. Ricky Glenn via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
- Jesus Aguilar def. Stewart Nicoll via first-round submission (guillotine choke)
Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya -- Round 3: Adesanya landed a long left hand that went through du Plessis' guard. Adesanya dug in with a hard shot to the body. du Plessis landed his own right hand. Adesanya landed a good leg kick and du Plessis landed a body kick in response. Adesanya again went hard to the body with a punch. A du Plessis right hand got home well. Adesanya landed a beautiful spinning back elbow and then ate a hard left hand from du Plessis. du Plessis landed a flurry of hard punches that seemed to bother Adesanya. Adesayna came back with some good right hands. du Plessis landed a left hook and both men looked as though they were fatiguing. du Plessis landed a hard leg kick. Adesanya dug hard to the body again and du Plessis came back with a hard left hand to the head. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Adesanya (29-28)
Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya -- Round 2: Adesanya kept working to the legs but du Plessis grabbed a body lock for a takedown. He was unable to secure the advantage on the ground initially but managed to jump on Adesanya's back and drag him back down. du Plessis worked for a rear-naked choke but Adesanya learned the leg and stood back up. On the feet, Adesanya landed a good elbow. Adesayna came forward landing some good shots and when it appeared he had a knockdown, it was actually du Plessis diving down for a takedown. du Plessis continued to press on the body lock forcing Adesanya to defend in grappling rather than let his punches go. du Plessis landed a flurry of punches in tight, including a few hard uppercuts. Another close round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 du Plessis (19-19)
Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya -- Round 1: du Plessis was looking to throw leg kicks early and pick spots to charge forward. Adesanya landed a hard leg kick and du Plessis responded with a left hand as he charged forward. du Plessis kept charging forward and Adesanya landed a hard kick to the body. Adesanya went back to the leg kicks. du Plessis landed a lead leg kick to the body. A strike exchange followed and du Plessis failed to secure his first takedown attempt of the fight. A du Plessis left hand landed well as Adesanya moved backward. du Plessis landed a good right hand and a leg kick but missed on the follow up right hand. Adesanya landed a nice uppercut. A right landed for du Plessis and he had a head kick blocked. Adesanya landed a hard right hand to the body. Close round but shaded to Adesanya. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Adesanya
It's almost main event time! Dricus du Plessis defends the UFC middleweight championship against former champion Israel Adesanya. The fight is nearly a pick 'em, with du Plessis a slight -115 favorite.
Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg -- Round 1: Erceg did good defensive work early to move out of the way of a Kara-France combination. Erceg tried to pop the jab and worked a few leg kicks along the way. Kara-France came forward with some good punches as Erceg used his footwork to slide back and keep Kara-France from landing cleanly. Erceg kept working off the jab. Kara-France landed a huge left hand that dropped Erceg and then a follow up flurry dropped Erceg again for the finish. Great stuff from Kara-France. Official result: Kai Kara-France def. Steve Erceg via TKO, Round 1
It's co-main event time! Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg in a pivotal flyweight bout. Erceg is a -285 favorite.
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