Li Jingliang vs Carlos Prates

UFC 305 kicked off with a welterweight clash between the ‘Leech’ Li Jingliang and Carlos ‘The Nightmare’ Prates.

Jingliang hadn’t fought since his loss to Daniel Rodriguez in September 2022. However, Prates had already fought twice this year, earning himself two TKO victories over Trevin Giles and Charles Radtke.

Prates is known for his impressive boxing capabilities, and this came into fruition in the first round of this bout, with the Brazilian using his reach advantage to inflict constant damage onto Jingliang.

Prates dropped Jingliang using a straight left jab with just 20 seconds left in round one.

The second round continued in similar fashion with Prates using his southpaw stance to constantly wobble Jingliang.

This constant pressure eventually paid off when Prates connected with two brutal left hands against the cage, before delivering a third strike that knocked out his opponent.

This highlight reel KO showcases the supreme talent that Prates possesses as he continues to rise up the welterweight division.

Tai Tuivasa vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik

A heavyweight clash came to Perth between two men known for their striking abilities.

Tai Tuivasa had lost his previous four fights and had slipped to number 10 in the heavyweight rankings. His opponent, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, on the other hand, won his last fight against Shamil Gaziev.

Tuivasa adopted a new style at the start of this bout with a more patient approach devised to counter Rozenstruik’s measured approach.

Rozenstruik connected with a big right overhand, but Tuivasa countered with a duo of inside calf kicks.

Neither fighter was willing to commit to big strikes, and Rozenstruik attempted to work off his jab, while Tuivasa continued to connect with leg kicks.

As the round drew closer to its conclusion, Rozenstruik began to find his range with a big shot to the body and a low kick to the body.

Tuivasa only managed to land nine significant strikes in the first round, while Rozenstruik landed 19.

The second round continued in similar fashion, with neither fighter able to land any crushing blows in the opening minutes.

However, the fight exploded into life with two minutes to go when Tuivasa appeared to injure his leg, and Rozenstruik pounced, landing some huge shots that the Australian barely managed to withstand.

Rozenstruik continued to punish Tuivasa with clubbing blows in the third round, with the Australian failing to register any significant damage.

Tuivasa attempted to secure a knockout in the final seconds of the fight but was unable to catch Rozenstruik.

One judge scored the contest 30-27 to Rozenstruik, whilst another scored it at 29-28 in Rozenstruik’s favour.

Controversially, the final judge scored the bout 30-27 in Tuivasa’s favour, although that didn’t change the end result as Rozenstruik secured the victory.

Mateusz Gamrot vs Daniel Hooker

The third fight on the main card saw number five ranked lightweight Mateusz Gamrot step into the Octagon to face number 11 ranked lightweight Daniel Hooker.

34-year-old Hooker had a 4.5-inch reach advantage over his opponent, who was on a three-fight win streak with his most recent win being over Rafael Dos Anjos.

Hooker immediately began to fight at a distance and exercise his reach advantage, although Gamrot caught him with a quick combination.

Gamrot secured a takedown just two minutes into the fight, although Hooker was able to battle out of a guillotine attempt and return to his feet.

Gamrot hurt Hooker with a right hand before attempting yet another guillotine attempt, which Hooker again escaped from.

With a minute left in round one, Hooker dropped his opponent before unloading a flurry of shots, which Gamrot barely managed to survive.

The second round began with Gamrot securing a double-leg takedown, which led to him controlling the majority of the fight on the mat.

Hooker eventually got back to his feet but was taken down by a single leg before scrambling Gamrot’s submission attempt.

Hooker hurt Gamrot again in the final seconds of round two, leaving the scorecards hanging in the balance going into the final round.

The final round saw both men trying to secure a finish, with Hooker landing a huge body shot, which Gamrot countered with two damaging right hands.

Hooker subdued yet another takedown attempt before connecting with a straight right to the face off Gamrot.

Both men were left bloodied going into the final minute, and they traded huge shots as the bout came to a conclusion, with Hooker ending the fight with a huge left hook.

One judge scored the bout 29-28 in Gambit’s favour, while the other two judges scored the contest 29-28 in Hooker’s favour, granting him the victory in Perth.

Kai Kara-France vs Steve Erceg

An intriguing matchup in the Flyweight division was the co-main event in Perth, between Kai Kara-France and Steve Erceg.

Kara-France has a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu background, while Erceg is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu.

Both fighters lost their previous fight, with Kara-France being defeated by Amir Albazi and Erceg losing to the current champion Alexandre Pantoja.

Erceg attempted to showcase his impressive boxing ability immediately, pushing Kara-France back with jabs and lunges.

Kara-France covered a lot of ground in an attempt to connect with strikes, but Erceg was able to avoid this flurry before landing a jab of his own.

Both fighters were attempting to neutralise each other, with Erceg trying to keep the fight at a distance whilst Kara-France was attempting to attack on the inside of Erceg’s guard.

Kara-France missed with a couple of wild combinations as the round wore on with Erceg continuing to be patient with his approach.

A lot of feints were being thrown by the two fighters in the first round, but Erceg was doing more to follow his up.

With just one minute and eight seconds left in the round, Kara-France connected with a huge left overhand, which dropped Erceg.

From here, Kara-France hunted down his opponent before the KO victory with yet another overhand against the cage.

Dricus Du Plessis (C) vs Israel Adesanya

Having won the middleweight belt back in January, Dricus Du Plessis was set to defend his title for the first time against long-term rival Israel Adesanya.

Adesanya had lost the middleweight belt to Sean Strickland in September 2023, and this was his first time back in the Octagon since then.

The South African champion started the fight by using his explosiveness to try and wear down the raised guard off Adesanya, who was responding with sharp leg kicks.

Adesanya was using feints to try and work an opening for his strikes, while Du Plessis saw a takedown attempt halted.

With just over a minute left in round one, Adesanya blocked a question mark kick attempt before landing a sharp overhand. The champion responded with a big right.

Du Plessis was able to take down his opponent in the opening minute of round two and attempted to control the back in order to set up a rear naked choke.

Once back on their feet, both men traded blows, with Adesanya connecting with some nice body shots before a right hand caused Du Plessis to fall.

However, the champion managed to pick the ankle off Adesanya on the way down and once again took back control on the mat.

Du Plessis controlled what was left of round two by keeping Adesanya on the ground.

Round three began with both men searching for a big right hand, and the champion connected through the guard off his opponent.

With just over two minutes left, Adesanya landed a beautiful spinning elbow, which momentarily stunned Du Plessis, who was able to respond with a bruising left hook.

Both fighters were now trading shots in the centre of the Octagon, with both attempting to gain an advantage by constantly switching their stance.

The closing minute of round three saw Adesanya land an impressive uppercut after being caught with a straight left hand.

The fight now entered the championship rounds with the scorecards relatively even.

Adesanya produced a great sprawl to avoid another takedown attempt by the champion and didn’t take the fight to the ground.

Du Plessis was now taking control of the centre of the Octagon, and he landed a big left hand, which hurt Adesanya.

With just under two minutes left in the round, Du Plessis landed three huge hooks before dragging Adesanya to the ground, where he was able to secure a submission through a choke.

Du Plessis retained his middleweight championship and continued his impressive streak in the division.