.Aug 12, 2024, 10:00 AM ETThere's something exclusive regarding a combined martial arts event Down Under.Maybe it's the time warp a North United States follower experiences while checking out battles on television on a Saturday evening as well as discovering that they are actually taking place the adhering to morning, true time. That's about as disorienting as being cageside in Australia and also knowing that enthusiasts halfway all over the world are actually watching the fisticuffs reside ... final night.Or perhaps it is actually one thing else that creates viewing MMA fights in Australia believe so offbeat. Maybe it is actually the matches themselves, which usually possess various vociferation aspects attached. Anybody adhering to the sport for several years has actually experienced the fact spins that can easily originate coming from cage matches in this particular edge of the Southern Hemisphere.Mark Quest and also Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva brought upon a career's really worth of heavyweight damage on each other during the course of one unforgettable evening in Brisbane in 2013. A record-setting evening (morning?) in Sydney a year later, with 11 battles and 11 surfaces. And also, of course, Holly Holm booting Ronda Rousey off her higher horse at UFC 193 in 2015 in Melbourne. That celebration set up a company participation record that stood up until the Octagon was reminded Melbourne in 2019 and 57,127 loaded Wonder Arena to watch Israel Adesanya knock out Robert Whittaker and also come to be middleweight champion.When the eight-sided cage returns to Australia on Saturday, the previous two-time champ is going to challenge Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305 in Perth. On the line will definitely be not merely a glossy strap however the pride of a continent 5,000 miles away, as both fighters are actually originated in Africa, though with much various lifestyle experiences.That's the origin of merely one of a number of intriguing storylines that will participate in out this weekend break. Here are five factors to watch for at UFC 305. That will win over the birthplace on a remote coast? 1. Middleweight champion: Dricus Du Plessis (c) vs. Israel AdesanyaIsrael Adesanya conflict Dricus Du Plessis in the main celebration at UFC 305. Photo by Will Russell/Zuffa LLCSaturday's centerpiece remains in Western Australia, although the touchy turf war is hooked up to a come down on the far side of the Indian Sea. Du Plessis was actually born and also still lives in South Africa. Adesanya was actually born in Nigeria and relocated along with his household to New Zealand when he was actually ten years old. Taking into account those diverse lifestyle roads, Du Plessis when declared, "I am the African competitor in the UFC." That carried out certainly not sit well with Adesanya, who has stated his family migrated looking for instructional opportunities.Editor's Picks1 RelatedIf there is actually an animosity included in the actually soaring risks, so be it. It's certainly not a needed ingredient to make this an appealing match, however allowed's certainly not overlook that the last opportunity Adesanya was in an animosity-fueled competition, he designated on Paulo Costa just before knocking him out in 2020. His one KO since then came against Alex Pereira in 2013, 5 months after Pereira possessed KO 'd him. So "The Last Stylebender" has revealed a crave the get-back, particularly versus powerful assailants. Can Adesanya's counterpunching stop the short reign of Du Plessis, who possesses bulldozed his way to nine success in a row?Which fixing job will courageous? 2. Men's flyweight: Kai Kara-France vs. Steve ErcegThe to begin with pair of times Kara-France contended in the UFC, the battles occurred in Australia and also he was actually sort of the nearby individual. He's actually coming from New Zealand, 1,300 kilometers all over the Tasman Ocean, yet his enemies were actually from the opposite of the planet, the USA as well as South America. This time around, though, it is actually an away ready Kara-France, as Erceg was born in Perth as well as stays 20 minutes coming from RAC Field. Erceg has actually fought in his home town 6 opportunities, however all before his signing along with the UFC last summer season. He's made simply 4 journeys inside the Octagon and currently has actually completed for the 125-pound title.That last factor highlights just how this fight, like the centerpiece, concerns more than geography. Erceg, 29, was actually riding an 11-fight winning touch when he unsuccessfully challenged Alexandre Pantoja in Might. Kara-France, 31, made a bid for an acting belt in 2022, losing by TKO to ex-champ Brandon Moreno. Both Kara-France and Erceg remain in fixing method. A reduction right here would not be actually the end of the road toward opponent status, yet it could deliver that fighter on an inhibiting detour.Can we all merely appreciate a turning happy times? 3. Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho RozenstruikTai Tuivasa seeks to end a four-fight losing streak at UFC 305 on Saturday evening. Picture by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesI experience regretful for caring Tuivasa fights as much as I perform. Certain, I like enjoying a finely tuned sportsmen flaunt technological combat skill-sets in giving damages and also closing down what an opponent can easily throw their way. That's the mixed martial arts I'm comfortable being an enthusiast of. However I just can't avert coming from a slobber knocker, which is what Tuivasa constantly promises.Top accounts of the full week coming from Obtain special accessibility to thousands of superior posts a year from top authors. u2022 MLB prophecies: Will Judge hit 60 Humans resources? "u2022 Barnwell: NFL playoff staffs to come back "u2022 Final CFB preseason SP+ ranks" More ESPN+ material ".What the Aussie can certainly not consistently guarantee, of course, is his delightfully revolting postfight occasion, the shoey. The beer as well as shoes appear simply in triumph, and also Tuivasa has actually lost 4 fights in a row. Yet right here's something worthwhile of commemorating, also just before the initial haymaker is actually affaired through these heavy-handed top cats: the matchmaking. Rozenstruik can turn for the fencings like Tuivasa, therefore this set should be actually exciting while it lasts.Will this level change succeed? 4. Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan HookerI was actually beginning to get nervous for Courtesan-- identical to the nerves of viewing Tony Ferguson contend at 40 years old. Hooker is merely 34 and his skid had not been rather as saddening, however during the course of a stretch coming from June 2020 via March 2022, he lost four of 5 battles, acquiring finished with all yet one of the losses. It needs to be taken note that those defeats happened against Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler as well as Arnold Allen-- certainly not a tomato can among all of them. And Concubine has actually considering that recovered along with a pair of success over opponents a measure lower on the step ladder (Jalin Turner, Claudio Puelles). The trouble for Courtesan is that this battle places him right back on top amount of competition. Gamrot has actually succeeded 7 of eight matches and is on the fringe of the title image. Will he be actually way too much for Whore, or even will Gamrot receive pushed away from the frame?One boxer's ceiling is another fighter's ... roof? 5. Women's flyweight: Casey O'Neill vs. Luana SantosO'Neill was actually 9-0 after she succeeded her 4th direct UFC match in early 2022, and viewers were beginning to speculate on where her ceiling was actually. Now she gets on a two-fight skid, and also the guesswork problems how much her falloff could be. At the same time, Santos is actually three matches in to her UFC round, riding a five-fight winning streak as well as seeming like a rising possibility. This is an appropriate exam for both girls, a level setter. O'Neill is actually 26 years old, while Santos is actually just 24. So their story might twist and turn for many years.