After a grueling back-and-forth battle, middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) successfully etched his first title defense over the returning Israel Adesanya (24-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) at UFC 305. Extending his already lengthy winning streak to 10, “Stillknocks” picked up the biggest win of his career by handing “The Last Stylebender” his second loss in a row. He also handed him his first-ever submission defeat after locking in a tight rear-naked choke in the fourth round to secure the victory.
Other highlights included Carlos Prates finishing Li Jingliang to open the main card, Dan Hooker and Mateusz Gamrot logging a spectacular lightweight Fight of the Night performance, and Kai Kara-France knocking out former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg inside the first round.
Now, let’s take a look at who the main card winners should fight next.
Carlos Prates
Making good use of his pay-per-view debut, Carlos Prates (20-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) recorded his ninth consecutive finish by starching Li Jingliang in the second round of their Welterweight scrap, flattering him with a well-timed left hook. This proved to be a massive feather in Prates’ cap for several reasons, as this was not only his first win over a formerly ranked adversary, but also because the knockout was the “The Leech’s” first in his almost 30-fight career.
Fight to Make: Vicente Luque
With a long resume of impressive knockouts, Prates is easily one of the 170-lb. division’s most recognizable finishers today. Having put away all three of his past UFC opponents dramatically inside the distance, the time has come for “The Nightmare” to test himself against the best the weight class has to offer. For his first attempt at cracking the rankings, welterweight veteran Vicente Luque would be the ideal dance partner to give him a taste of what he can expect to face in the top 15.
Currently sitting at No. 13 in the 170-lb rankings, Luque was supposed to fight earlier this month against fan-favorite Nick Diaz at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov, but the fight wound up being canceled. Coming off a loss to rising contender Joaquin Buckley earlier this year, Luque will be looking to get back on track by taking down another surging name in the division.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik
For all three rounds of their meeting this past Saturday, Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) completely dominated the heavy-handed Tai Tuivasa, out-striking “Bam Bam” en route to a highly-controversial split decision victory, with one judge bafflingly awarding Tuivasa all three rounds. Horrid judge’s scorecard aside, though, Rozenstruik successfully notched his second win in a row after finishing Shamil Gaziev back in March.
Fight to Make: Marcin Tybura
Back in 2022, Rozenstruik was slated to battle Polish heavyweight Marcin Tybura on two occasions, however, both times the fight ended up being canceled and both men went their separate ways up the 265-lb. ladder. Now is the time to rebook these two for a third time, as “Bigi Boy” has never looked sharper in his striking, and Tybura is in need of a rebound following his recent loss to Serghei Spivac.
Dan Hooker
Continuing to prove his reputation as one of the lightweight division’s most exciting fighters, Dan Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) defeated divisional dark horse Mateusz Gamrot by split decision after a thrilling three round spectacle. The win not only won both competitors a Fight of the Night bonus, but also moved Hooker to three in a row, positioning himself for a possible title eliminator bout in his next trip to the Octagon.
Fights to Make: Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, or Dustin Poirier
Now residing among the top five 155-lb. fighters on the planet, Hooker has undoubtedly earned a shot at competing against a high-profile name from amongst the division’s upper most echelon. Although the bout has yet to be announced, “The Hangman” has alluded to former UFC Lightweight Champion Charles Oliveira being a potential pick for his next time out. If that monumental scrap does end up fizzling out, other top choices include two previous interim title holders in Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, the latter Hooker has already faced before back in 2020 where he lost a five-round barnburner to “The Diamond.”
Kai Kara-France
Coming back from more than a year layoff, Kai Kara-France (25-11 MMA, 8-4 UFC) dusted recent flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg in their co-main event showcase, knocking out the hometown favorite with just a minute left in the first round. The victory notably snapped “Don’t Blink’s” two-fight losing streak, with him having not won a fight since taking a unanimous decision over previous UFC competitor Askar Askarov back in March of 2022.
Fight to Make: Alexandre Pantoja
In true dominant fashion, Kara-France made it known last Saturday that he is still one of the best flyweights in the world, and has more than likely earned a shot to face current 125-lb. kingpin Alexandre Pantoja later this year. Although the immaculate wrestling of the champion will surely give the New Zealander the biggest test of his UFC career, Kara-France and his exceptional power could prove to be the key to dethroning the Brazilian.
Dricus du Plessis
While he may have seemed to have been fading in the later rounds during his fight with Adesanya, UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis still managed to rock his challenger before taking him down and securing the rear-naked choke in round four. While there were some that doubted the validity of his reign after he just barely nabbed the belt from Sean Strickland earlier this year, his exciting finish over one of the greatest middleweights of all time proves his status as the 185-lb. division’s standard.
Fight to Make: Sean Strickland
Back in January, du Plessis and Strickland had the honor of kicking off the new year with a resounding bang with their five round war that saw the South African come out on top by split decision. Ever since then, “Tarzan” has campaigned endlessly for a second crack at “Stillknocks,” which has been fueled even more so following his victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 earlier this summer. Considering how back-and-forth their first encounter was, another fight between these dangerous strikers could easily be one of the most-anticipated rematches in recent history.
