Dricus du Plessis successfully defended his middleweight belt for the first time by submitting the former two-time 185-pound kingpin, Israel ‘The Last Stylebender’ Adesanya,’ with a rear-naked choke at the 3:38 mark of Round 4 in the UFC 305 headliner at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Du Plessis won in what was a pick ’em matchup (-110 either way) at a lot of shops. The proposition bets for DDP to win inside the distance (+175), by submission (+600) and in Round 4 (+1800 at FanDuel!) had handsome payouts. Wagers on ‘under’ 4.5 rounds (-124 at BetRivers and -128 at FanDuel) were winners.

Adesanya controlled the first round for the most part, landing a lot of kicks to DDP’s legs and to the body. He also found a home for a few uppercuts.

DDP had some success with his blitzes and connected with several nice left hands. Nevertheless, MajorWager scored the opening frame for Adesanya.

DDP got a takedown early in Round 2. Adesanya was able to get back to his feet, but the South African stuck to him and took him down again.

Next, Adesanya made a mistake and gave up his back. DDP went for a choke, but it was defended well by the former champ. However, it gave DDP an opening to land some big punches to the face.

DDP then went for another choke and appeared to have him flattened out, but Adesanya turned and somehow wiggled out and got back to his feet.

But moments later, DDP scored another takedown. Referee Marc Goddard allowed Adesanya to get away with multiple fence grabs as he got back to his feet.

DDP stayed on him, though, riding his back while landing some decent shots. MajorWager gave DDP the nod in Round 2, making it 19-19 heading into the third stanza.

Adesanya took back some momentum in the third round, mostly getting the best of the striking exchanges. He got into a nice rhythm with his jab and got his kicking game flowing again.

DDP started to dirty things up later in the round, connecting with some strikes off his blitzes again. But MajorWager gave the frame to Adesanya for a 29-28 lead.

In the fourth, Adesanya appeared to be the fresher man. Izzy stuck some nice jabs early and his body kicks seemed to be taking their toll.

Nevertheless, DDP kept coming forward. He paid for it at times by absorbing counters from Izzy, but then DDP landed a big left that got Adesanya’s attention.

Then the champ landed another left, followed by a right that dropped Izzy, who was able to get back to his feet. But as Adesanya was retreating, he got caught by another right hook that put him down.

DDP pounced on Izzy and went right to the back. He went for the rear-naked choke, locked it in and forced Izzy to tap.

The rivals were both classy to each other inside the Octagon and in the back afterwards. In fact, DDP and his girlfriend embraced Izzy’s family and shared some kind words. The beef seems to be squashed.

Although former champ and #1 contender Sean Strickland would appear to be in line for a rematch with DDP, who won the belt by defeating Strickland via split decision at UFC 297, the champion lobbied for third-ranked Robert Whittaker to get the next crack at him if ‘The Reaper’ can prevail against 11th-ranked Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 in October.

Adesanya said he’s not retiring, but he’s not sure what’s next for him. He’s lost back-to-back fights for the first time in his career and is in a 1-3 slump in his last four Octagon appearances.

Meanwhile, DDP improved to 22-2 overall and 8-0 in the UFC. He hasn’t tasted defeat since October of 2018.

In the co-main event, fourth-ranked flyweight Kai-Kara France scored a first-round knockout win over Steve Erceg with 56 seconds remaining in the frame. Kara-France won as a +240 underdog at Caesars.

Bettors taking ‘under’ 2.5 rounds cashed +205 tickets at BetRivers, which also had an alternate total that paid a +340 return for those betting ‘under’ 1.5 rounds.

Props for Kara-France to win by TKO/KO netted a +750 payout at FanDuel. DraftKings had a +650 return for Kara-France to win inside the distance, and props on Kara-France to win in Round 1 had +1500 odds (!) at FanDuel.

Dan ‘The Hangman’ Hooker put an exclamation point on his improbable run back into the title mix of the lightweight division. The 11th-ranked 155-pounder edged fifth-ranked Mateusz Gamrot via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) as a lucrative underdog in the +290 (BetRivers) to +340 (Caesars) range.

According to MMADecisions, nine media members scored the contest 29-28 in favor of Gamrot. Seven media members had it 29-28 for Hooker, while one scored it 30-27 for Hooker.

This back-and-forth thriller garnered Fight of the Night honors.

The 34-year-old Hooker has won three straight fights, including a split-decision victory over 14th-ranked Jalin Turner at UFC 290. He should jump into the Top 10 of the lightweight rankings.

In a heavyweight scrap, Jairzinho Rozenstruik defeated Tai ‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa by split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28). Rozenstruik won as a -225 ‘chalk.’

Per MMADecisions, all 15 media members rightfully scored the bout 30-27 for Rozenstruik. The incompetent judge, Howie Booth, who inexplicably gave all three rounds to Tuivasa was removed from scoring his next scheduled bout, which would’ve been the co-main event won by Kara-France.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for Tuivasa, but those defeats have come to the #2, #3, #4, #9 and #12 ranked heavyweights. We shall see if the 31-year-old Bam Bam gets a pink slip, but he’s a fan favorite so I won’t be shocked if he gets one more chance (hopefully against an unranked foe).

In the pay-per-view opener, Carlos Prater beat Li ‘The Leech’ Jingliang via second-round KO as a -400 ‘chalk.’ Prates, who improved to 20-6 overall and 3-0 in the UFC, has now won 10 consecutive fights with his last nine victories coming by KOs inside of two rounds.

**B.E.’s Bonus Octagon Nuggets**

-Kara-France and Prater won the Performance of the Night bonuses, joining Hooker and Gamrot by taking home $50,000 bonuses.

-BetOnline has Du Plessis installed as a -130 favorite vs. Strickland, who is a +110 underdog. The fight would have to take place by Aug. 30 of 2025. Also, DDP is listed as a -185 ‘chalk’ vs. Whittaker (+160).

-BetOnline has a prop for whether “Conor McGregor will fight in the UFC in 2025?” ‘No’ is a -175 favorite, while gamblers can net a +135 payout on ‘Yes.’

-On Friday, Dana White announced that Alex ‘Poatan’ Pereira will make his next defense of the light heavyweight belt against Khalil Rountree in the UFC 307 headliner. This is one of the more puzzling title-shot opportunities in recent memory. Rountree was just removed from his last bout and suspended for two months for testing positive for a banned substance. Although he’s on a five-fight winning streak, Rountree has only one win over a ranked opponent during that span, and that was over 12th-ranked Anthony Smith.

-Whatever the case, DraftKings opened Pereira as a -535 ‘chalk.’ Since then, the betting shop has adjusted his odds to -455, leaving Rountree as a +350 underdog.