UFC 305 is heading to Perth down under for an exciting card with many much anticipated matchups headlined by the a long-standing rivalary to take place between former champ Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis fighting for the pride of Africa (depending on who you ask). UFC has taken special care to make sure that the card is stacked with local talent from Aus and NZ with Headline Adesanya, co-main Steve Erceg, Kai Kara France, Dan Hooker, Crowd favourite Tai Tuivasa, Joshua Culibao, Casey O’neil, Jack Jenkins, Tom Nolan and Stuart Nicoll – Let’s just say that Australia and NZ are showcasing some of their biggest talent which will help solidify their standing on the world stage.

Lets talk about some of these matchups.

Israel Adesanya vs Dricus Du Plessis (Middleweight)

The longstanding rivalry between these two elite fighters has been going on for a while with each claiming to be the more authentic champion of Africa. Dricus Du Plessis “DDP” is a white south African, lives breathes and trains in South Africa vs Israel Adesanya born in Nigeria but living and fighting out of New Zealand – Needless to say the tension between these two is strong. Israel has had a long standing career coming of his success in kickboxing, having won the UFC middleweight championship in 2019, he has since defended it 5 times, losing it once to old kickboxing rival Pereira in 2022 (regained in 2023) and losing it again in 2023. What we know is that it is difficult to stay at the top and it is possible that Adesanya has already peaked, current aged 35, the stats do show that performance does start to decrease from 34 onwards. You could say that this fight will determine how much longer Israel has in the sport. On the other hand, DDP, the current middleweight champion, the younger fighter at aged 30, a successful kickboxer in his own right with 33 amateur kickboxing wins (30 by knockout) is on a 9 win streak having most recently beat Sean Strickland by split decision to take the UFC middleweight championship and who also notably knocked out Australia’s very own former champ Robert Whittaker. DDP brings high energy into the cage which could work for or against him against the more disciplined and experienced former Champion Adesanya, whereas Adesanya needs to show the world he still has what it takes to perform at a championship level.

Steve Erceg vs Kai Kara France (Flyweight)

In this matchup we have the Australian born Steve Erceg matched up against his New Zealand counterpart. Both fighters are coming off decision losses. Steve Erceg lost a unanimous high paced decision to the current champion Alexandrew Pantoja, breaking his 11 fight win streak. A solid counter puncher that shows good discipline in his fighting style, Steve managed to keep an intense pace for 5 rounds. While a well-rounded fighter he has a lean towards submission finishes with 6 wins and 0 losses by sub (2 by KO). Kai Kara France is the more experienced fighter with over double the fights of Erceg (35 vs 14) and is coming off a two-fight losing streak with 3 losses in his last 6. With a heavy right hand, some think that his fighting style is a little too one dimensional, although his record shows that when his right hand lands it can get the job done bringing him 11 KO finishes, almost half of his wins come by way of KO. This fight is really going to be a test of both fighters capabilities to defend against the other’s strengths, with Kara France looking to keep the fight standing up and no doubt Erceg looking to take advantage of Kara Frances heavy hands and return with Submission or Counter punches. Both fighters are calculated and have shown discipline. This bout is looking up to be a 5 round technical fight with plenty of opportunities for fireworks throughout.

Matussz Gamrot vs Dan Hooker (Lightweight)

In the 3rd matchup on the main card we have Dan “The Hangman” Hooker vs Matusz “Gamer” Gamrot. Dan Hooker is crowd favourite and a veteran of the sport. He has had mixed results over his last fights with 4 losses of his past 7 and coming off a 2 fight win streak. To be fair, Dan Hooker’s losses come from some top tier opponents including Arnold Allen (20-3), Islam Mackachev, Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler – losses any fighter could be proud of. Dan brings primarily a striking game at range which could present problems for Gamrot given his primary focus of wrestling. The range that Dan likes to fight at may make it harder to get the takedown. Dan has a solid chin, having eaten straight headkicks from Jalin Turner in his last fight and still dominating. Regardless of Gamrot’s skill Dan Hooker is a challenge for almost any opponent and will not go down easy. Gamrot on the other hand is a well rounded fighter with next level wrestling skills, it could be argued that he relies on them too much, but his striking is top tier and he has never been knocked out which is Hooker’s favourite means of finishing a fight (48%). Mateusz bring the pace, he is able to neutralize his opponents when he gets into trouble with his wrestling but where he struggles is getting caught waiting for the takedown and letting the fights go to decision. Ultimately, he doesn’t have enough of a sample size on the loss front to give us any meaningful insights into his weaknesses. Dan Hooker is no stranger to losses with 12 losses vs Gamrots 2. It will be an interesting matchup most likely determined by whether or not Dan can catch Gamrot using his long range striking ability or whether or not Mateusz mauls Hooker with his world class submission wrestling. Definitely one of the most exciting bouts of the card.

Tai Tuivasa vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik (Heavyweight)

Enter the heavyweights with the Shoey drinking crowd pleaser Tai Tuivasa, proudly from Western Sydney, Australia vs “Bigi Boy” Jairzinho Rozenstruik from Suriname, a small country in South America. Tai Tuivasa, a world renowned slugger and has come off a 5 fight losing streak, with his lethal hands bringing him 12 of his 14 wins from R1 knockout, he is true to his words famously saying - “If I dink him, I sink him”. Tuivasa has struggled at the top tiers of the sport when challenged by more well rounded fighters with higher levels of output and fitness. In previous fights when it has gone to the ground, it has almost looked like he is a fish out of water, which we have no doubt he has been working on in his camp. Luckily for him his opponent is not known for his grappling and is unlikely he is unlikely to be challenged on that front. On the other hand we have Jairzinho “Bigi Boy” Rozenstruik, also known for his striking, he has had mixed results over his last fights with with 3 losses from his last 5 fights and coming off a a R4 retirement win against Shami Gaziev. An accomplished kickboxer with 75 wins from 86 fights (kickboxing), he brings a high level of striking with 8 of his 15 wins coming from R1 finishes. Unlike Tuivasa, “Bigi Boy” has seen some later rounds of fights which have both ended in his favour vs top tier opponents, which suggests that he has proven cardio if the fight goes the distance. This fight looks like it will be a slugfest, if Tuivasa can land early he may be able to sink his opponent, but the history suggests that failing an early round finish Bigi Boy could capitalize on his technical striking and experience to bring home a win.

Jingliang “The Leech” Li vs Carlos “The Nightmare” Prates (Welterweight)

Here is what we know - Jingliang “The Leech” Li is a veteran of the UFC, debuting in 2014, he is 36 years old which is usually a sign that age is starting to have some wear on a fighter and this may be supported given that his last fight was cancelled due to a spinal injury and a fight in 2019 was also cancelled for an undisclosed injury. His fight before that against Daniel Roriguez was lost by a controversial split decision, 21 out of 23 media scores gave the fight to Jingliang and unfortunately the fight before that Jingliang got a world famous feature on Khamzat Chimaevs lifelong b-roll where he was carried to Dana White and then brutally submitted via a guillotine choke. Needless to say Jingliang has had a tough few years. In his prime Li was a fierce striker gaining 53% of his wins via knockout and a strong finisher with 74% of his fights being decisively finished. He is fast paced, and a fierce fighter but in many ways this fight will determine how much Li has got left to contribute to the sport. Will he go on to continue battling the welterweight division? or will he fade into the lower ranks of the sport? Unfortunately for Li, his opponent “The Nightmare” is a serious contender and a big challenge for whoever he faces. Joining the UFC in 2023 “The Nightmare” Carlos Prates is relatively new to the promotion and it could be argued that the competition that he has faced has not been on the same level as Li, however you cant shy away from the fact that he is the younger fighter by 6 years (36 vs 30) and is coming off a 12 fight win streak with the last 9 by way of KO in the 1st or 2nd and earning a performance bonus in 2 of his 3 fights in the UFC. He is a well-rounded fighter having some success in grappling, but his primary skill lies in his solid striking coming from all limbs. This is an opportunity for Prates to prove himself against a veteran of the UFC while this is Li’s chance to prove that he still has what it takes to compete at the highest level. This will certainly will be an interesting matchup!

For the avid fans, this event is packed full of exciting fights with new notable up and comers including Joshua Culibao, Junior Tafa and Tom Nolan as well as a UFC debut for Stewart Niccol vs submission specialist Jesus Aguilar. Stay tuned for fight results and to see how your predications stack up against UFC fans around the world!