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The Scout: UFC 305 Preview

Posted on | Posted by The Scout

Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya

The Main Event of UFC 305 sees a hotly anticipated clash between current middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis and longtime former-champ, Israel Adesanya.

To say there is no love lost between these two is putting it lightly, with the duo being on a collision course for some time now – although most would have expected that to take place with Issy defending the belt, not Dricus!

Both fighters come to Perth with their most recent fights being against Sean Strickland, Dricus defeating the American in January this year to claim the middleweight crown, Issy going down to him to lose the belt back in September last year.

This will be a rare time seeing Issy as the challenger in a title fight which means he will have to be aggressive in an attempt to “take” the belt from DDP. I don’t think a defensive masterclass will be enough here, so are we set for another highlight finish from The Last Stylebender? I have my doubts.

Verdict: Dricus Du Plessis by Decision @ $4.90*

Kai Kara-France vs Steve Erceg

The co-main event of the evening (or morning) sees a flyweight bout between New Zealand’s Kai Kara-France and Perth’s hometown hero, Steve Erceg.

We haven’t seen Kara-France in more than a year while Erceg had three straight wins after joining the UFC in February 2023, before suffering a decision loss at the hands of Alexandre Pantoja in a flyweight championship fight at UFC 301.

While no one will be taking Kara-France lightly, there are too many unknowns about how he will return from such a long layoff. Erceg went the distance with the division champ in May and looks the goods here in front of his home crowd.

Verdict: Steve Erceg by Decision @ $2.23*

Tai Tuivasa vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik

The big boys go to work in the second fight of the Main Card at UFC 305, and one thing looks for certain; this fight will not go the distance.

After a meteoric rise in 2021/22, Tuivasa comes to Perth off the back of four straight losses against Marcin Tybura, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich and Ciryl Gane. He’s slipped to 10th in the heavyweight rankings, and this looms as a career defining fight for the Aussie.

Rozenstruik, ranked 12th in the division, comes in as the favourite, with his most recent fight being a TKO win against Shamil Gaziev back in March.

The athletic profile of these fighters is eerily similar, as are their career records (Tuivasa 15-7, Rozenstruik 14-5) and across their careers both carry a 93% win by KO/TKO record. With all that said, I think Bam Bam bounces back, and early!

Verdict: Tai Tuivasa by KO/TKO @ $3.60*

*Odds correct as at 12pm 15th August 2024.

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