UFC 305 Live: Adesanya vs. Du Plessis – Key Moments and Results
The UFC is down this weekend.
UFC 305 sees the fighters go down on Saturday night at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia — at least when Americans are watching. The real fight will begin on Sunday morning at the West Australian ground.
The card is packed with Aussies and features an exciting main event: middleweight champion Dreux du Plessis defending his title against former champion Israel Adesanya for the first time, with the crowd behind him. There is no lack of bad blood in this matchup.
Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker ufc result
It wouldn’t be a UFC event without some controversy! The final preliminary bout of the night, a heavyweight fight between Junior Tafa and Walter Walker, was stopped by the referee at 4:56 of the first round. Tafa was not happy about the stop.
Walker caught Tafa’s leg in a pretty nasty looking heel hook. We can guess that it hurt, because Tafa screamed in pain. This is what stopped it. (An “involuntary scream” falls under the UFC’s verbal tap guidelines.)
Regardless, Tafa was immediately peeved, and he eventually got in Walker’s face to exchange some words. He even lightly slapped Walker.
Josh Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos ufc result
This felt like our closest contest of the night, and the scorecards reflected that. Brazil’s Ricardo Ramos ended the Aussie’s run of winners with a decision victory over Josh Klebau (two judges scored it 29-28 Ramos, one 29-28 Klebau).
Both fighters had their moments in the first round, with Klebau looking to hurt Ramos. But perhaps Colibau was a little too aggressive in his pursuit and the fight went to the ground – and Colibau soon found himself in big trouble. Ramos looked like he was on the verge of suffocating Klebau, but Klebau found a way to survive after much struggle. But then Colibeau seemed to take the initiative in the second round, even showing off a bit by hitting a pirouette at one point.
Ramos came out strong in the third, though, bloodied Colibao’s face a bit and took control some more time on the ground. Two of the judges awarded him the round for his efforts – and it earned him the win in the featherweight fight.
Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos ufc result
The Australians are rolling now. Casey O’Neill made it three wins in a row for the home country fighters, winning a 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 unanimous decision over Luana Santos in the women’s flyweight bout. O’Neill was in control throughout and could have submitted in the final round had time not run out.
O’Neill’s victory gets her back on track. After a 9-0 start to her pro MMA career, O’Neill lost both her fights in 2023.
Jack Jenkins vs. Herbert Burns ufc result
We have another stoppage! Jack Jenkins defeated Herbert Burns via TKO at 0:48 of the third round.
Jenkins dominated when this featherweight fight was on the feet. He slapped Burns, repeatedly landing painful shots on the body. Burns’ only way to escape was to shoot for a takedown. This is a well that he visited a lot.
In the end, it was a kick that set the stage for Jenkins’ victory. A leg kick from Burns hurt the Brazilian, who soon fell to the mat under Jenkins’ onslaught. After some ground and pound, Jenkins backed Burns to leave. Burns was unable to get up. fight
Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes ufc result
We have our first Australian winner of the night!
Tom Nolan was widely favored for this lightweight bout against Alex Reyes but for the first time in his UFC career, one of his fights went the distance. Nolan controlled the action, though, and won by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). After an uneven start, which included an illegal knee in the first round, Nolan began to hold his ground in the second round. He looked close to getting a submission win in the third round, but Reyes survived.
Song Kenan vs. Ricky Glenn ufc result
Song Cannon’s punching power was on full display in a unanimous decision victory over Ricky Glenn (30-27, 30-26, 29-28). Perhaps the only surprising thing about this welterweight bout is that it went the distance, and credit goes to Glenn.
Glenn actually got off to a good start, but Song soon took over, opening up a flurry of quick punches on the American. Glenn appeared to stagger several times, and his face was smeared with dirt. A fairly large hematoma also erupted on the right side of his head.
