UFC 305: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya Ceremonial Weigh-In Faceoffs & Full Stream

UFC 305 takes place on Saturday night, and MMA News is here to bring you the final faceoffs from the ceremonial weigh-ins! The upcoming pay-per-view event at Perth’s RAC Arena provides a chance for UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis to further enhance his legacy on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. After unseating Sean Strickland in […]

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UFC 305 takes place on Saturday night, and MMA News is here to bring you the final faceoffs from the ceremonial weigh-ins!

The upcoming pay-per-view event at Perth’s RAC Arena provides a chance for UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis to further enhance his legacy on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.

After unseating Sean Strickland in the American’s first defense this past January, the South African will look to avoid the same fate when he puts the gold on the line Down Under opposite former two-time champ Israel Adesanya.

Title stakes could be down the line for the co-main event winner, meanwhile, with recent challenger Steve Erceg looking to immediately bounce back from his first UFC setback against the returning Kai Kara-France.

Elsewhere on the UFC 305 card, lightweight fan favorite Dan Hooker shoots for a top-five ranking opposite Mateusz Gamrot, hard-hitting heavyweights Tai Tuivasa and Jairzinho Rozenstruik likely swing for the fences, and China’s Li Jingliang makes a long-awaited comeback.

Ahead of the event, 23 out of the 24 fighters successfully made weight, with Jesus Aguilar’s 1.5-pound miss of the flyweight limit marking the sole indiscretion on the scale.

Nevertheless, every fight has remained intact, and all that remained on Friday night (Saturday local time) was for the athletes to face off one final time at the UFC 305 ceremonial weigh-ins!

Check out a stream via the official UFC YouTube channel below, followed by all the faceoffs!

UFC 305 Ceremonial Weigh-In Stream

UFC 305 Ceremonial Weigh-In Faceoffs

https://twitter.com/UFC_AUSNZ/status/1824644087280005191

https://twitter.com/UFC_AUSNZ/status/1824645141052699124

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Throwback: Dricus Du Plessis helps grounded opponent with fallen mouthpiece, throws vicious ground and pound

Dricus Du Plessis, UFCDuring a fight in his early career, Dricus Du Plessis helped his opponent with his mouthpiece and then threw brutal shots on the ground.  The now UFC middleweight noticed that his opponent didn’t have his mouthpiece and assisted him with putting it back into his mouth. Then, Du Plessis threw vicious punches on his grounded […]

Dricus Du Plessis, UFC

During a fight in his early career, Dricus Du Plessis helped his opponent with his mouthpiece and then threw brutal shots on the ground. 

The now UFC middleweight noticed that his opponent didn’t have his mouthpiece and assisted him with putting it back into his mouth. Then, Du Plessis threw vicious punches on his grounded opponent. 

Dricus Du Plessis Has Been Impressive Since Arriving in the UFC

Du Plessis (18-2) is a former two-division champion in South African mixed martial arts promotion Extreme Fighting Championship. He also claimed gold in KSW

The 28-year-old inked a deal with the UFC in Sept. 2020. He has been unbeaten since his debut at UFC Fight Night 179. He has finished three of his four UFC fights. Du Plessis last submitted Darren Till with a face crank at UFC 282. He’s currently the No.10 ranked middleweight in the company. 

What’s Next After UFC 304? Full Confirmed UFC 305 Main Card For Perth On August 17

UFC 304 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering. The promotion was in Manchester, England last week, where the Co-op Live played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest visit across the pond. Of note were victories for newly crowned UFC Welterweight […]

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UFC 304 is in the books, meaning attention will soon turn to the mixed martial arts leader’s next pay-per-view offering.

The promotion was in Manchester, England last week, where the Co-op Live played host to a number of intriguing matchups for its latest visit across the pond. Of note were victories for newly crowned UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad, Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall, and rising lightweight Paddy Pimblett.

While the aftermath of the July 27 card is currently the talk of the town, it won’t be long until focus sways to the next PPV, and from the welterweight title picture to the 185-pound championship conversation.

At UFC 305, set for the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on August 17, reigning middleweight kingpin Dricus Du Plessis will compete for the second time this year, making his first defense of the gold in a long-awaited grudge match against returning former two-time champ Israel Adesanya.

There will also be high stakes and Oceanic interest in the co-headliner, as former flyweight title challengers Kai Kara-France and Steve Erceg collide in the latter’s home city in pursuit of staking their claim for a shot at Alexandre Pantoja’s belt down the line.

Hooker, Tuivasa, ‘The Leech’ Set The Stage For Title Headliner At UFC 305

Before Du Plessis defends his championship in Adesanya’s home continent and the City Kickboxing standout’s teammate “Don’t Blink” makes his comeback, a number of other high-profile names will take to the Octagon looking to make the post of their position on the major card.

That includes fan-favorite lightweight veteran Dan Hooker, whose frequent calls for a spot on the Perth card were finally answered in the form of a crucial showdown with the #5-ranked Mateusz Gamrot. While Hooker has won back-to-back outings against Claudio Puelles and Jalin Turner to begin a resurgence, “Gamer” is riding a three-fight win streak.

Prior to that, Australia’s own Tai Tuivasa will look to bring his patented post-knockout shoey celebration back to the Octagon for the first time since his victory over Derrick Lewis in February 2022. That result marked “Bam Bam’s” fifth straight win and left him at #3 in the heavyweight rankings, but he’s since lost four in a row, the most recent of which came against Marcin Tybura at the Apex this past March. The same month saw his next opponent, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, return to winning ways at the expense of Shamil Gaziev.

And opening the main card is the return of Li Jingliang, who hasn’t made the walk since a controversial defeat to Daniel Rodriguez in their short-notice 180-pound catchweight contest at UFC 279 in September 2022.

See below for the full UFC 304 card, as it stands.

Main Card:

  • Dricus Du Plessis (C) vs. Israel Adesanya (middleweight championship main event)
  • Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg (flyweight co-main event)
  • Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker (lightweight)
  • Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (heavyweight)
  • Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates (welterweight)

Preliminary Card:

  • Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker (heavyweight)
  • Joshua Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos (featherweight)
  • Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos (women’s flyweight)
  • Jack Jenkins vs. Herbert Burns (featherweight)

Early Preliminary Card:

  • Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes (lightweight)
  • Song Kenan vs. Ricky Glenn (welterweight)
  • Stewart Nicoll vs. Jesus Aguilar (flyweight)
Dan Hooker
Image: UFC.com

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Watch: Live Octagon-Side View Of Dricus du Plessis vs. Darren Till

A cageside view of Darren Till’s brutal showdown with rising contender Dricus du Plessis is available on YouTube. Once considered a potential face-of-the-promotion level talent, Darren Till has fallen on hard times in recent years. Following his …

A cageside view of Darren Till’s brutal showdown with rising contender Dricus du Plessis is available on YouTube. Once considered a potential face-of-the-promotion level talent, Darren Till has fallen on hard times in recent years. Following his undefeated streak-snapping submission loss to then-UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 228, ‘The Gorilla’ has won just…

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Coach: Israel Adesanya Won’t Be Champion When Leon Edwards Moves Up In Weight

A win in the main event of UFC 304 will earn Leon Edwards the third ruby on his welterweight title. Since stunning the MMA world with his head kick knockout of Kamaru Usman, the Brit has defended his title on two occasions heading into this rematch with Belal Muhammad on July 27 in Manchester. Edwards […]

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A win in the main event of UFC 304 will earn Leon Edwards the third ruby on his welterweight title.

Since stunning the MMA world with his head kick knockout of Kamaru Usman, the Brit has defended his title on two occasions heading into this rematch with Belal Muhammad on July 27 in Manchester.

Edwards has made it clear that he has big goals in mind for his title reign at 170-pounds where he hopes to break the great Georges St-Pierre’s records.

Though he has no plans to permanently leave welterweight at any point soon, “Rocky” also hopes to challenge himself at middleweight at some stage.

With several top names sitting at the top of the division, it could be a very different landscape at 185-pounds by the time Edwards makes his move.

Dave Lovell Picks Out Sean Strickland & Dricus Du Plessis As Potential Middleweight Fights For Leon Edwards

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Edwards’ head coach Dave Lovell was asked to give his opinion on who the middleweight champion will be when his fighter attempts to become a two-weight world champion.

Israel Adesanya is set to challenge for the title that he has held twice before when he faces Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305 next month but Lovell doesn’t believe that “The Last Stylebender” will be around for much longer.

Edwards’ friendship with Adesanya makes a fight between them incredibly unlikely anyway but the Team Renegade captain doesn’t see this coming to pass.

He believes that either the current holder or the man he won the title from, could be Edwards’ middleweight opponent.

“I don’t think Israel [Adesanya] because in all fairness, I love him and Israel is my brother but I think he’s coming to the twilight of his career now. and if I was him, if he fights Dricus, maybe win the title, defend it once or even just win that title and retire because he’s earned enough, he’s got nothing more to prove. I wouldn’t like to see Leon fight Israel because we’re all close that way, we’re all friends so I wouldn’t like to see that.

“Dricus maybe if Dricus is still hanging around. I think the easiest, well I take that back, one of the fights that I think would be a good fight for Leon to showcase his skills against a man, Mr Strickland, who’s a kind of come forward kind of style fighter which would suit Leon.

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Former UFC Champ Lays Down How Khamzat Chimaev Can Fight The Winner of Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya Over Sean Strickland

Khamzat Chimaev burst onto the scene by winning two UFC fights in different weight divisions within 10 days. However, the hype train that began in 2020 has derailed a bit due to his inconsistency. Despite defeating credible opponents like Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns, “Borz” has yet to fight for the title at welterweight or […]

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Khamzat Chimaev burst onto the scene by winning two UFC fights in different weight divisions within 10 days. However, the hype train that began in 2020 has derailed a bit due to his inconsistency.

Despite defeating credible opponents like Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns, “Borz” has yet to fight for the title at welterweight or middleweight. He was scheduled to take on Robert Whittaker at UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia last month, and winning the bout would have most likely solidified his first title shot.

Unfortunately, illness once again struck the Chechen star, forcing him to withdraw on late notice. Despite that, though, Chimaev still recently called for a title shot upon his return.

Michael Bisping recently reviewed Chimaev’s career and dismissed any chances of a championship fight next. However, the former UFC champ did reveal the one way through which the prospect can fight the winner of Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya.

Bisping Explains How Chimaev Can Pass Strickland, Whittaker For UFC Middleweight Title Shot

Bisping discussed Chimaev’s demands for a title shot upon his return on his official YouTube channel. Although “The Count” praised the Russian fighter for dominating Usman and being explosive in the Octagon, he highlighted that it isn’t enough for him to pass Whittaker and ex-middleweight king Sean Strickland in the title race.

Bisping also pointed out Chimaev’s inconsistency and how the UFC hasn’t been in proper touch with him. He fought four times in 2020 to gain a ton of hype in MMA circles but has only fought thrice since then. “Borz” has pulled out of bouts several times due to illness or other reasons, which has naturally hurt his brand.

“So, there’s no judgment against him for that, but the reality is for Khamzat Chimaev, the man doesn’t fight too frequently. Had one fight in 2023, two in 2022, and one in 2021. So, that’s an issue for the UFC and, certainly lately, he’s kind of been, I don’t want to say unreliable, but he’s pulled out a couple of times, okay?”

Having said that, the former UFC middleweight champ is certain that Chimaev is still one fight away from getting a chance at gold. At the numbered event in Abu Dhabi this October, Bisping believes he should aim to secure a rescheduled clash with the #3-ranked Whittaker.

Chimaev’s high-pace style slowed him down in the later rounds against Burns and Usman. For Bisping, a three-round battle with “Bobby Knuckles” at UFC 308 would be favorable because the Australian might have the edge in a five-round battle, as they were set for in Riyadh.

“The man is something special. Of course, the cardio issues as the fights get longer. That is the big question, can he do that over five rounds? But Robert Whittaker, if he fought in Abu Dhabi, that would only be three rounds. And that would actually help Khamzat Chimaev.”

“The Count” believes that a win over Whittaker would also allow Chimaev to pass Strickland for a title opportunity due to recency.

“Rebooking Robert ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker. The fight we all wanted to see, the fight that made sense, and the fight that would, I’ll be honest, set up the next number one contender. And that’s a shame for Sean Strickland.”

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