Predicting the stud & dud for UFC 305

On August 17 the UFC returns to Perth, Australia to host UFC 305. One of the world's best crowds will be experiencing electrifying fights at the RAC Arena. The main event will be Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya, a middleweight title fight, while the co-main event will be Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg, a top-five flyweight fight that will be absolute fireworks. A top-five lightweight scrap will occur between Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker in a wrestler-versus-striker matchup, which could be a war. Finally, there will be two fun matchups involving strikers in a heavyweight matchup, between Tai Tuivasa and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and a welterweight matchup between Li Jingliang and Carlos Prates. While winners and losers will occur at UFC 305, the predicted stud and dud of the card will be discussed below.

UFC 305 stud: Dricus Du Plessis

Du Plessis is one of the most, uniquely talented fighters in the UFC right now. He is on a nine-fight winning streak, with seven wins coming by way of finish. He is always entertaining and can't be in a boring fight, regardless of the opponent. In his last fight against Sean Strickland at UFC 297, he got the now-former champion his first Fight of the Night bonus as Strickland is usually not the most entertaining fighter, despite his loud personality. The most intriguing part about Du Plessis is his awkward fight style that somehow works to help him win fights that may look hard, for him, on paper. Previously, he had a nose problem, forcing him to breathe through his mouth for fights he still pushed through to win.

His nose issue was resolved through surgery, which helped him shine even more. Du Plessis ended up pulling upsets against Robert Whittaker, to become the No. 1 contender, and Strickland, to become the undisputed champion. Du Plessis showed that he can be calculated in his shots to land or finish opponents, despite moving in a drunk-like manner. Despite looking tired, Du Plessis also showed that he is not that tired, as he can push a tough pace on any opponent until the end of a fight. While he was an underdog in the Whittaker and Strickland, he is coming into his fight with Adesanya as an underdog, yet again.

As yet another underdog, this is another opportunity for Du Plessis to shine, possibly making him the stud of UFC 305. Everyone is talking about how Adesanya, as a contender, is a dangerous, undefeated animal. This is another narrative Du Plessis can shut down, adding to other narratives he shut down in his previous fights where he pulled upsets. Before the Whittaker fight, people talked about him being the second-best middleweight, who beats everyone except Adesanya. Before the Strickland fight, everyone talked about Strickland being a cardio machine that would be too much for someone like Du Plessis. As he defeated Strickland, his pace made Strickland breathe heavily in the later rounds, which is rarely seen.

UFC 305 dud: Tai Tuivasa

The predicted dud for UFC 305 is a heartbreaking pick because he is a beloved fan favorite. This will likely be the end of the road for Tuivasa's career in the upcoming card. He has taken too much damage in his career, as he is currently on a four-fight losing streak where he was finished in each fight. Tuivasa has a wild story, as he started as a rugby player, who left the sport due to a gambling addiction. Luckily, he later found MMA, which probably saved his life. Tuivasa became widely known as a major knockout artist, best known for his post-fight celebrations involving drinking beer from a shoe.

Tuivasa briefly had a three-fight losing streak from late 2018 to 2019. Beginning in late 2020, he went on a five-fight winning streak, with five spectacular, knockout victories. Tuivasa's entertaining fight style and personality made the UFC push him hard into title contention. In September 2022, he received his first main event in Paris against French top contender Ciryl Gane. In a Fight of the Night winner, Tuivasa was outclassed and brutally stopped in the third round, despite showing heart while nearly finishing Gane with a knockdown. Though Tuivasa showed he could fight, his fight with Gane showed that he may not be championship material.

Tuivasa's career went downhill badly as he was brutally stopped by Sergei Pavlovich, submitted by Alexander Volkov, and submitted by Marcin Tybura. What made the losses worse was Volkov not being much of a grappling artist and Tybura being way past his prime. Tuivasa does not seem to take his career seriously anymore as he does not seem motivated to improve his game and on the Embedded series, he is already talking about an afterparty. Rozenstruik likely will stop Tuivasa at UFC 305, due to being a much better striker and Tuivasa's durability being not as good as it was in the past anymore. It would not be surprising if Tuivasa retires after another loss or gets cut by the UFC.