.Aug 12, 2024, 10:00 AM ETThere's one thing unique about a combined fighting styles event Down Under.Maybe it is actually the amount of time warp a N. American supporter expertises while viewing battles on TV on a Sunday evening and recognizing that they are actually occurring the adhering to early morning, local time. That's about as disorienting as being cageside in Australia and also recognizing that followers midway worldwide are actually enjoying the fisticuffs reside ... final night.Or possibly it's something else that creates viewing MMA fights in Australia feel therefore offbeat. Probably it is the battles on their own, which typically possess various vociferation factors attached. Anybody adhering to the sport for a number of years has observed the reality twists that can easily rise coming from crate matches in this edge of the Southern Hemisphere.Mark Quest and also Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva brought upon a profession's truly worth of heavyweight damages on one another during the course of one remarkable night in Brisbane in 2013. A record-setting evening (morning?) in Sydney a year later, with 11 battles and also 11 coatings. And, of course, Holly Holm booting Ronda Rousey off her higher equine at UFC 193 in 2015 in Melbourne. That event developed a provider presence record that stood up until the Octagon was actually brought back to Melbourne in 2019 and also 57,127 filled Wonder Coliseum to watch Israel Adesanya knock senseless Robert Whittaker and come to be middleweight champion.When the eight-sided cage come back to Australia on Saturday, the former two-time champ will certainly challenge Dricus Du Plessis generally celebration of UFC 305 in Perth. On the line will be actually not just a bright strap however the take pride in of a continent 5,000 miles away, as each competitors are rooted in Africa, though along with far various lifestyle experiences.That's the origin of just one of a number of intriguing stories that are going to play out this weekend break. Listed below are five points to look for at UFC 305. Who will sway the home on a distant shore? 1. Middleweight championship: Dricus Du Plessis (c) vs. Israel AdesanyaIsrael Adesanya conflict Dricus Du Plessis generally occasion at UFC 305. Photograph through Willpower Russell/Zuffa LLCSaturday's centerpiece remains in Western Australia, although the touchy territory war is hooked up to an arrive on the far side of the Indian Ocean. Du Plessis was birthed and also still stays in South Africa. Adesanya was actually birthed in Nigeria and moved along with his household to New Zealand when he was 10 years aged. In light of those diverse lifestyle paths, Du Plessis when announced, "I am the African fighter in the UFC." That performed certainly not agree with Adesanya, who possesses stated his family migrated seeking instructional opportunities.Editor's Picks1 RelatedIf there is actually an animosity included in the already lofty stakes, so be it. It is actually certainly not an important active ingredient to create this an intriguing fight, yet let's not overlook that the last opportunity Adesanya was in an animosity-fueled matchup, he designated on Paulo Costa just before taking him out in 2020. His one KO ever since happened against Alex Pereira in 2013, five months after Pereira possessed KO 'd him. So "The Last Stylebender" has revealed a crave the get-back, especially versus strong aggressors. Can Adesanya's counterpunching quit the brief reign of Du Plessis, that has bulldozed his means to nine success in a row?Which rebuilding project will stand tall? 2. Male's flyweight: Kai Kara-France vs. Steve ErcegThe to begin with two times Kara-France competed in the UFC, the battles happened in Australia and also he was kind of the local fella. He's in fact from New Zealand, 1,300 kilometers all over the Tasman Ocean, however his opponents were coming from the other side of the globe, the USA as well as South America. This time, though, it is actually an away game for Kara-France, as Erceg was actually birthed in Perth and also resides 20 moments coming from RAC Arena. Erceg has fought in his hometown six opportunities, however all before his signing with the UFC last summer months. He's made only 4 journeys inside the Octagon and currently has competed for the 125-pound title.That last factor highlights just how this battle, like the centerpiece, concerns more than geography. Erceg, 29, was actually riding an 11-fight winning touch when he unsuccessfully tested Alexandre Pantoja in Might. Kara-France, 31, tried for an interim waistband in 2022, losing through TKO to ex-champ Brandon Moreno. Both Kara-France as well as Erceg are in fixing mode. A loss listed below would certainly not be actually completion of the road towards challenger condition, however it could deliver that competitor on an inhibiting detour.Can we all simply take pleasure in a swinging great time? 3. Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho RozenstruikTai Tuivasa hopes to finish a four-fight losing touch at UFC 305 on Saturday night. Picture through Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesI feel regretful for loving Tuivasa battles as high as I carry out. Sure, I love viewing a carefully tuned athlete show off technical fight capabilities in causing damage as well as closing down what a challenger can easily throw their method. That's the blended martial arts I'm comfortable being actually an enthusiast of. However I merely can not avert coming from a slobber knocker, which is what Tuivasa constantly promises.Top accounts of the week coming from Acquire exclusive access to 1000s of superior short articles a year coming from top article writers. u2022 MLB prophecies: Will Court hit 60 Humans resources? "u2022 Barnwell: NFL playoff staffs to come back "u2022 Final CFB preseason SP+ ranks" More ESPN+ information ".What the Aussie can certainly not regularly assure, naturally, is his wonderfully disgusting postfight party, the shoey. The draft beer and footwear come out only in triumph, and also Tuivasa has dropped 4 matches straight. Yet listed here's something worthy of commemorating, also prior to the very first haymaker is flung through these heavy-handed top cats: the matchmaking. Rozenstruik can turn for the fences like Tuivasa, therefore this one should be exciting while it lasts.Will this degree improvement be successful? 4. Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan HookerI was starting to get tense for Woman of the streets-- similar to the nerves of checking out Tony Ferguson contend at 40 years of ages. Woman of the streets is actually just 34 as well as his skid wasn't quite as depressing, but throughout a stretch coming from June 2020 by means of March 2022, he went down four of five battles, acquiring ended up with all however some of the losses. It must be kept in mind that those defeats happened versus Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Arnold Allen-- not a tomato may among all of them. And Hooker has due to the fact that recuperated with a set of triumphes over opponents a measure lower on the ladder (Jalin Turner, Claudio Puelles). The issue for Courtesan is actually that this match places him straight back at the top degree of competition. Gamrot has actually gained 7 of eight matches as well as performs the edge of the title image. Will he be actually way too much for Hooker, or will Gamrot receive poked out of the frame?One competitor's roof is actually one more competitor's ... ceiling? 5. Women's flyweight: Casey O'Neill vs. Luana SantosO'Neill was 9-0 after she succeeded her fourth straight UFC match in early 2022, as well as viewers were actually starting to guess on where her ceiling was actually. But now she performs a two-fight skid, as well as the guesswork worries how far her falloff could be. Meanwhile, Santos is actually 3 battles in to her UFC round, riding a five-fight winning streak as well as appearing like a climbing possibility. This is a suitable exam for each ladies, an amount setter. O'Neill is actually 26 years old, while Santos is simply 24. So their storyline could twist and turn for several years.