UFC 305 results, highlights: Dricus du Plessis scores with late submission of Israel Adesanya and retains his title

After a long rivalry, the main event of UFC 305 between UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis and two-time former champion Israel Adesanya was no disappointment. After a nearly non-stop back-and-forth between the two, du Plessis earned a rear-naked choke in the fourth round to retain his title.

Both men were successful at various points during the fight, with Adesanya being particularly effective with punches and kicks to the body. It was a battle of equals, with whoever had the upper hand putting the other on the defensive.

For much of the fight, it seemed as though Adesanya had returned to his effective style, forcing du Plessis to repeatedly catch up in the striking game while simultaneously fending off takedowns from the champion.

In the fourth round, that all changed. When it looked like Adesanya was going to win the fight, du Plessis charged forward and landed a right hook. More right hooks followed along the cage before du Plessis pulled Adesanya to the ground and quickly applied a rear-naked choke to force him to submit.

The end came 3:38 into Round 4. It was du Plessis' first title defense since winning the title from Sean Strickland, the man who ended Adesanya's second title reign, at UFC 297 in January.

The often ugly rivalry between South African du Plessis and Nigerian-born Adesanya, who fights in his adopted home of New Zealand, had taken some ugly turns over the past year, including du Plessis claiming to be the “real African” in the feud. The two appeared to have buried the hatchet after the fight.

“For me it's an honour to share this Octagon with a legend – not potentially, but guaranteed to be a Hall of Famer – this man has done so much for this sport,” said du Plessis. “I'm sorry I was disrespectful, no matter what would have happened tonight, an African would have won the fight. Believe me, I don't want to be kicked by this man again.”

Adesanya paid tribute to du Plessis but blamed his own mistakes for the loss.

“To be honest, as tough as I already knew it was going to be tough to crack him and knock him out,” Adesanya said. “I was able to withstand his takedowns, but I made a stupid mistake. … Once again, I didn't do what I wanted to do tonight and I'm disappointed in myself. I've never felt this good and looked this good, but tonight I faced the better fighter.”

Adesanya also banished any thoughts of retirement after the fight, saying: “I'm not f***ing going. I'm not f***ing going.”

There was some great action on the supporting card, with Kai Kara-France returning from his own hiatus to score a stunning first-round knockout of flyweight Steve Erceg. Kara-France, who was fighting for the interim title in 2023, catapulted his name back to the top of the contenders list after defeating Erceg, who suffered a hard-fought loss to Alexandre Pantoja for the full title in May. Plus, Dan Hooker turned back the clock and scored a huge upset win over Mateusz Gamrot. Hooker, who was also out of action for over a year, extended his winning streak to three with the split decision bout, in which he knocked down the rising challenger several times. And rising prospect Carlos Prates showed what a huge talent he could be with a stunning knockout of Li Jingliang to open the PPV. It was the first time in Jingliang's long career that he had been knocked out.

CBS Sports was with you all the way on Saturday, bringing you all the results and highlights from UFC 305 below.

UFC 305 card, results

• Dricus du Plessis (c) defeated Israel Adesanya by submission in the fourth round (rear-naked choke)
• Kai Kara-France defeated Steve Erceg by knockout in the first round (punch)
• Dan Hooker defeated Mateusz Gamrot via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Jairzinho Rozenstruik defeated. Tai Tuivasa by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 30-27)
• Carlos Prates defeated Li Jingliang by KO in the second round (punch)
• Valter Walker defeated Junior Tafa by technical submission (heel hook) in the first round
• Ricardo Ramos defeated Josh Culibao by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Casey O'Neill defeated Luana Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Jack Jenkins defeated Herbert Burns by TKO in the third round (calf kicks)
• Tom Nolan defeated Alex Reyes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Song Kenan defeated Ricky Glenn by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
• Jesus Aguilar defeats Stewart Nicoll by submission in the first round (guillotine choke)