UFC 305 Preview And Predictions

UFC 305 Preview And Predictions

The UFC octagon will be in Perth, Australia for UFC 305. The event features a lot of the most popular and successful fighters from the region. This includes a middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis. The main event is backed up with a handful of solid fights to create a solid main card.

Join Vendetta Sports Media as we preview and predict the UFC 305 main card. You can find our prediction records below.

James: 84-67

Garrett: 89-62

Anthony: 92-59

Jerry: 73-61

Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates- Welterweight Bout

James: The UFC 305 main card opens with a welterweight bout between Li Jingliang and Carlos Prates. Jingliang has had a lengthy UFC career and has logged an 11-6 record in the promotion. In recent fights, he has gone 2-2. Prates is a fresh face to the UFC. The prospect earned a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series and has impressed thus far in his UFC tenure. Prates is currently 2-0 with two knockout wins. This bout against Jingliang will be a massive step up in competition for the rising prospect.

Jingliang is a striker who hunts knockout shots while maintaining the ability to compete from the outside. This begins with his ability to land kicks. At a distance, Jingliang gets active with kicks to the body and legs. This allows him to do damage while waiting to close the distance. Once he manages to close the distance and get inside, he throws big hooks that can potentially hurt his opponents.

Prates has shown impressive striking skills throughout his short UFC tenure. The reasoning begins with his length. At six-foot-one, he has a 78-inch reach. That is notable for the welterweight division. What cannot be explained through these numbers is that he has extremely long legs. On the outside, Prates has sharp straights, long kicks, and dangerous knees. These weapons allow him to land impactful strikes to all three levels. This opens up a ton of paths to landing a knockout because he has knockout power and sniper-like accuracy .

The UFC 305 main card opener favors Prates, but that can’t be said without concerns. Prates tends to fight with low output. This makes it more difficult for him to win a decision. Jingliang’s power will also give him a chance to land a big strike that ends the fight. Still, Jingliang can be backed up. At the same time, Jingliang is willing to force the action. This will provide Prates with counter opportunities. That provides two routes for Prates to land a finish. I will take Prates by second-round knockout .

Garrett: Prates via TKO

Jerry: Prates via KO/TKO

Anthony: Prates via KO/TKO

No. 10 Tai Tuivasa vs. No. 12 Jairzinho Rozenstruik- Heavyweight Bout

James: At UFC 305, Tai Tuivasa will fight Jairzinho Rozenstruik. This is a matchup between two heavyweight knockout artists. Tuivasa is 8-7 in the UFC with seven knockout victories. This fight will be crucial as he looks to snap his four-fight losing streak. Albeit, the losses came against elite opponents and strong grapplers, but a fifth consecutive loss would be tragic. Rozenstruik is 8-5 in the UFC with all eight wins coming by knockout. Similarly to Tuivasa, he has struggled against elite strikers and strong grapplers. That makes this an appealing matchup as both fighters can set their previous struggles to the side.

Tuivasa thrives in a wild brawl that allows him to chuck leather as hard as possible. This yields success because he tends to be the fighter who lands massive shots in these exchanges. This is mostly because of his ability to land counters. That said, his ability to set up big strikes is underrated. Similarly, he throws hard kicks that do serious damage. Lastly, Tuivasa does serious damage out of the clinch.

Rozenstruik is a powerful striker with a kickboxing background. In comparison to Tuivasa, Rozenstruik is miles more patient and calculated. This can be seen in his distance striking. Rozenstruik will calmly pick at his opponent with straights and kicks while waiting for the opportunity to land a massive counter. The problem is that there are fights where he cannot land that counter and has low output.

This UFC 305 bout previews as a volatile heavyweight clash. This is the type of fight that could end at any second. It will only take one punch from either fighter to close the show. That said, there are a couple of factors that push me toward Tuivasa. In terms of style, Rozenstruik’s lack of grappling will allow Tuivasa to get into the clinch and make the fight dirty. On top of that, Rozenstruik does not throw many body kicks which is a major hole in Tuivasa’s skill set. Tuivasa will likely be the more aggressive fighter who throws more as well. In physical traits, Tuivasa will be a much bigger fighter and he has been the more durable fighter between the two. Despite his current run of losses, I think Tuivasa gets the job done. I will take Tuivasa by second-round knockout .

Garrett: Tuivasa via TKO

Jerry: Tuivasa via KO/TKO

Anthony: Rozenstruik via KO/TKO

No. 5 Mateusz Gamrot vs. No. 11 Dan Hooker- Lightweight Bout

James: The UFC 305 feature bout is a lightweight fight between Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker. Gamrot is 7-2 in the UFC and is currently riding a three-fight winning streak. Unfortunately for him, he has struggled to get fights against the division’s elite. A win against Hooker could earn him a big fight in the division. Hooker is currently in the opposite part of his career. The fan-friendly brawler recently snapped a 1-4 run with back-to-back wins. A top-five win would earn him a big opportunity.

Gamrot is a sensational grappler. This is because he has serious skills in every aspect of grappling. Gamrot has great takedowns, wins scrambles, slick transitions, and he controls from the top position. This is all present while having great cardio. Typically, this results in control time and decision wins. The ability to find a finish is present but is a smaller portion of his skills. The serious flaw of Gamrot is that he gets hit often and gets hurt. This makes his fights closer than expected.

Hooker is a six-foot lightweight with a 75-inch reach. It is a massive frame for the division. This gives him the ability to land a lot of powerful strikes from the outside. This includes kicks to all three levels as well as straight punches. In the pocket, he will throw big hooks with bad intentions. Lastly, his length allows him to land great knees. It is also important to note he got back to his old ways in his most recent victory against Jalin Turner. It was a performance that put his toughness and durability on display. That is something that we had not seen from Hooker in several outings. That resurgence provides optimism about his future.

This UFC 305 preview favors Gamrot. I expect Hooker to have solid moments in this fight. This will likely come in the fashion of knees and uppercuts. The issue is that I doubt he will have enough success to be victorious. That will largely be because of Gamrot’s commitment to wrestling. Throughout three rounds, he will relentlessly attempt takedowns and rack up control time. I will take Gamrot by decision .

Garrett: Gamrot via decision

Jerry: Gamrot via decision

Anthony: Gamrot via decision

No. 4 Kai Kara-France vs. No. 7 Steve Erceg- Flyweight Bout

James: The UFC 305 co-main event features elite flyweights Kai Kara-France and Steve Erceg. Kara-France is sitting on a string of bad luck and is looking to get back in the win column. At the moment, he is on a two-fight losing streak. The first loss in the pair came against Brandon Moreno in an interim title fight. That was followed up by a controversial decision loss against Amir Albazi. That loss was forced to sit on his resume as a concussion kept him out of competition. Erceg used a three-fight win streak to earn a flyweight title fight. Despite losing to Alexandre Pantoja, he showed he deserves to fight against the division’s premier talent.

Kara-France is an impressive striker who will put combinations together and land consistently. At his best, he uses feints to set up strikes before throwing multiple shots. Kara-France will not land every shot he throws, but he throws to set up strikes and creates openings for impactful strikes. Additionally, he has strong leg kicks. In the grappling realm, Kara-France does not present much offensively, but he has developed solid defensive grappling skills.

Erceg is an impressive striker in his own right. The highlight of his striking skill is his ability to use speed and footwork to get in and out of the pocket. This allows him to land strikes without eating as many in return. If he ends up trading strikes with his opponent, he is rarely forced into the exchange. In specific skills, he has a nice jab, an impressive straight, and a great counter left. This all comes while being willing to dig to the body. As a grappler, Erceg can land takedowns and has slick submission skills.

The UFC 305 co-main event previews to be one of the closest fights on the card. In striking exchanges, this will be a highly competitive match as both fighters are elite in that realm. That said, each fighter has factors that could swing this fight in their favor. On the Kara-France said, his leg kicks could help limit Erceg’s movement. Meanwhile, Erceg could use takedowns to swing close rounds in his favor or counter Kara-France to limit his ability to throw combinations. I will side with Kara-France because I expect this fight to mostly take place on the feet which will allow him to throw leg kicks consistently. I will take Kara-France by decision.

Garrett: Erceg via decision

Jerry: Kara-France via decision

Anthony: Erceg via decision

(C) Dricus Du Plessis vs. No. 2 Israel Adesanya- Middleweight Title Fight

James: The UFC 305 main event features a highly anticipated grudge match between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya. The bout became massive when the pair faced off in the octagon after Du Plessis’ victory at UFC 290. The fight is finally set to go down a year later, and fans still crave the matchup. Du Plessis had a great run to the title that featured a seven-fight winning streak. Now, he looks to defend his title for the first time. Adesanya is one of the best middleweights of all time. In his initial title run, he ripped off five title defenses. Alex Pereira stopped that progress but Adesanya won his title back in a rematch; however, he did not start a second title run as he lost the belt to Sean Strickland in his next fight. A win against Du Plessis would make him a three-time champion and would allow him to continue crafting his legacy.

Du Plessis has an unorthodox approach to MMA. This revolves around his physicality and unpredictability. Du Plessis will get in his opponent’s face and attack with wild blitzes. If he lands shots in those blitzes, he deals serious damage. This is usually done with big overhands, but he also has a strong jab and kicks. Typically, this style does not work at the championship level; however, Du Plessis has mastered this approach and is finding success. Additionally, his physicality translated to the grappling realm. Du Plessis has powerful takedowns and throws destructive strikes from the top position.

Adesanya’s kickboxing roots are present in his fighting style. The goal is for him to find success from a distance with kicks and straight punches. This is done with a ton of feints that allow him to set up big strikes. Furthermore, his footwork helps him control the octagon and keeps his back off the fence. In the early stage of his MMA career, he found a lot of success in the pocket. If his opponent closed the distance, he would use head movement and counterstrikes to stay safe while landing impactful strikes. That skill was noticeably less effective in his most recent loss to Strickland.

The current state of Adesanya’s career is important before we discuss how these fighters match up. In recent fights, we have seen different versions of Adesanya. In his rematch against Pereria, he looked motivated and had a sensational performance. That was followed up by an uninspired loss to Strickland. This fight will be very telling as Adesanya needs to find the motivation that allows him to compete at his best. If he cannot, this fight will not go well.

The UFC 305 main event previews as a close fight as long as it is standing. The path to victory for Adesanya will be to establish his jab and leg kicks. This makes his feints more effective. Ideally, landing strikes and using feints should help limit Du Plessis’ forward pressure. It will also be important for him to land counters during Du Plessis’ wild blitzes. Otherwise, the champion can unload with big strikes for five rounds. Meanwhile, Du Plessis will need to get in Adesanya’s face and get his back against the fence. This will help him land his hands. Plus, he can attempt takedowns which will help him tire on Adesanya and do damage.

Ultimately, I will side with Du Plessis for this prediction. In his career, he has shown the durability and toughness to pressure his opponents with big strikes. I expect him to stand his ground while Adesanya throws strikes and feints. In a worst-case scenario, Adesanya lands big strikes, but Du Plessis’s durability limits Adesanya’s finish upside. If Adesanya cannot control the octagon, Du Plessis will be able to land strikes. This is present along with having grappling upside. If this fight hits the scorecards, that mix of octagon control and grappling upside will help Du Plessis. I will take Du Plessis by decision .

Garrett: Adesanya via TKO

Jerry: Du Plessis via submission

Anthony: Du Plessis via decision

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