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| Dricus du Plessis successfully defended his middleweight title for the first time against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC One thing is certain: While it is not always |
One thing is certain: While it is not always pretty, it is effective. Nobody has figured it out and his current run of turning back Robert Whittaker (TKO), Strickland (decision) and now Adesanya (submission) is one of the more impressive runs in the sport.
Will people finally give him his respect? They should. He earned it with his performance in Perth.
He turned back an incensed Adesanya, who appeared to be refreshed and energized after taking 11 months off. He overcame adversity and dug deep to take the title back to South Africa. According to UFC CEO Dana White, a rematch with Strickland appears next. Should he get past Strickland, a few new challengers could make their way into title contention (Khamzat Chimaev, Brenden Allen ... and maybe Pereira?) and test the champion.
For now, Du Plessis' style will always have people believing he can be beaten, but until someone does, "Stillknocks" remains the king of the 185-pound division.
No more overlooking Kai Kara-France
Kai Kara-France, right, beat Steve Erceg by first-round knockout at UFC 305 on Saturday night. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images
Okamoto: The disrespect to Kara-France in the buildup to this fight was wild.
It was not that anyone was saying anything negative about Kai Kara-France; they just weren't saying anything at all. It felt like this flyweight fight was being overlooked, for one. And secondly, anything that was said about it was mainly on the side of Steve Erceg. Erceg was a significant betting favorite, and the sport was still enamored with how he competed against flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 301 in May.
And for good reason. Erceg was one bad decision away from very likely winning the UFC flyweight title, and doing it against a top 10 pound-for-pound candidate in Pantoja. But that was his last fight -- not this fight -- and it felt like the sport thought this was his fight to lose.
Kara-France had 12 first-round finishes coming into this fight. He's the only fighter to defeat Askar Askarov, and he did it as a more than 3-to-1 betting underdog. He probably should have beaten Amir Albazi in their five-rounder last year, when he was arguably robbed on the scorecards. He's an intelligent flyweight with arguably the most power in the division and no glaring holes. Why was he such an underdog to Erceg on Saturday, an opponent who has a fraction of his experience at the top level?
He might get overlooked because he's soft-spoken, and, to be fair, he has lost some of his bigger fights that would have solidified him as elite in the eyes of most observers. Let this win be that though, because Kara-France shouldn't be overlooked moving forward.
Aussie and Kiwi stars shine in Perth
Bruce: Away from the main and co-main bouts, the pick of the other local results went the way of Dan Hooker, Jack Jenkins and Tom Nolan, while there was another tough defeat for a crowd favorite in Tai Tuivasa.
After Aussie Stewart Nicoll was scarily submitted in the card's first fight, Nolan turned in an accomplished performance to defeat Alex Reyes by unanimous decision. The Queenslander worked a mixture of kicks, elbows and punches, opening up a cut on Reyes' left cheek along the way, as he powered to two 30-27 scorecards as part of a unanimous decision victory.
Nolan has produced back-to-back wins after he was a loser in his UFC debut to Nikolas Motta and now looks ready for a step up in quality for his next featherweight opponent.
Jenkins, meanwhile, looked superb on his return from an almost 12-month layoff following a dislocated elbow at UFC 284 last year, as he recorded his maiden UFC finish with a complete domination of Herbert Burns.
At times, Burns looked more focused on delivering his best impression of infamous Australian Olympic breakdancer "Raygun" rather than engaging with the up-tempo Jenkins. But the Aussie eventually ran out of patience to finish the bout with a flurry of blows early in Round 3. He is now eyeing another fight later in the year, even if it means he misses Derby Day on Nov. 2, the biggest day on Australia's horse racing calendar and a favorite for those living in Melbourne, as Jenkins does.
And then there was Hooker, for whom fighting is never dull. The Kiwi got the City Kickboxing trio off to the perfect start after a spectacular three-round contest, Hooker earning a split-decision win, his third triumph in succession.
Takedown defense was central to Hooker's victory after he had spent a chunk of time on his back on the canvas in Round 1 and then again early in Round 2. As the fight wore on, he turned defense into attack, delivering far more punishment when the fight returned to the feet.
Hooker was later taken to hospital for a CT scan of his head and face, but a third straight win at lightweight, and his 14th in the UFC overall -- ensures he remains a part of the title picture at lightweight.
"I want them all. I want BMF, I want Conor, I want title eliminator," Hooker said post-fight to the roars of RAC Arena.
- ESPN
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