History will be made as the UFC arrives in Perth for the third card held in the Australian city. The main event of UFC 305 is a title bout between world middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa and the challenger, two-time former champ Israel Adesanya of Nigeria. It’s the first time in the history of the promotion that two African fighters have battled in a UFC world title bout.
The co-main even features a flyweight showdown between top-10 contenders Steve Erceg of Australia and Kai Kara-France of New Zealand.
In this article, SBS will be going over each fighter, offering a predicted winner in both matchups, and also providing some additional notes and information regarding UFC 305 betting.
| UFC 305 Odds | The Pick |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dricus Du Plessis vs Israel Adesanya | Adesanya | -117 | -115 | -120 |
| Kai Kara-France vs Steve Erceg | Erceg | -172 | -155 | -155 |
Fighter Spotlight: Dricus Du Plessis
The champion, nicknamed “Stillknocks”, will want to stand toe to toe with Adesanya and look to win via his powerful striking skils and kickboxing abilities.
The biggest problem he’ll be facing, though, is that Adesanya is a hard fellow to hit with solid blows. Du Plessis (21-2) is at his best when he is the aggressor, pursuing his opponent and forcing him to backpedal. He’s not nearly as effective when counter punching, so he can’t allow Adesanya to dictate the style of fight it will be.
Fighter Spotlight: Israel Adesanya
The Last Stylebender calls nearby New Zealand his home, so he’ll be feeling quite comfortable stepping into the octagon in Perth. He’s also coming into this fight well rested as he seeks to once more regain the crown he wore twice previously.
The biggest question facing Adesanya (24-3) is whether at the age of 35 has he left his best days behind? He’s dropped two of his last three bouts, and was knocked out for the first time in his UFC career.
Prediction: If Adesanya is on top of his game, he’s the winner here. Du Plessis at his best will be no match for Adesanya at his best.
Fighter Spotlight: Kai Kara-France
Once a top contender in the flyweight division, New Zealander Kara-France (24-11-1) has dropped his last two bouts and is 3-3 over his last six fights. He’s still holding down the No. 4 contender spot in the division, but that seems to be based more on reputation than reality.
Kara-France fights with an awkward style and that appeared to provide him an early advantage in his UFC career. Lately, though, as fighters have more tape on him, it isn’t a method that’s working for the New Zealander.
Fighter Spotlight: Steve Erceg
It’s a down under battle in this flyweight bout. Erceg (12-2) will be fighting on home turf in Australia. He quickly established himself as a force in UFC, winning his first three bouts. That earned him a title shot and although he lost to Alexandre Pantoja, Erceg pushed the champ to his limits.
Ranked No. 7 in this weight class, Erceg seems undervalued at that position. He’s a very sound technical grappler.
Prediction: This a bad matchup for Kara-France. He needs to win by finding a strike for a KO or a submission hold. Erceg can ground and pound and should be able to control both the pace of this bout and how it ultimately plays out.
Once you are all set with your UFC 305 bets, you’ll want to be checking out the outstanding amount of information available to you only at SBS. For further insights into the bouts on the card covered here, make sure to check out the UFC betting sites guide. These guides go over all of the latest betting markets coming from the sport and can help you put together some solid UFC 305 picks. As well, if you’re looking for the best UFC 305 bets, be certain to take a look at the best bonus betting sites breakdown, which assesses a variety of excellent information, including a catalog of the different bonus offers available to you. Finally, for those on the move, the best betting apps rundown is a must-read page to assure that you get all of your UFC 305 bets down in time.
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Theo is our NFL guy. He is the go-to man for all things football and has proven himself to be one of the most expansive writers here, with a broad knowledge of North American sports. He's a veteran journalist based in Ontario, and has covered the gambling and sports betting industry since 2016. He has written more than two dozen books and covered the NFL since the early 1990s.
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