UFC 305 proved to be an unpredictable night, both in terms of winners, action, and in some cases, scorecards (we’re looking at you, Howie Booth, the judge who scored a 30-27 for Tai Tuivasa in a fight he clearly lost).
The main card, to a fight, delivered however, from the opening bout between Li “The Leech” Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates, to the middleweight main event that saw Dricus Du Plessis become the first man in history to submit Israel Adesanya.
When the dust had settled and smoke cleared, all three bonuses (and four bonus-winners) had been selected from the UFC 305 main card, not surprisingly. That started with welterweight Prates, who became the first man to knock out China’s Jingliang, a veteran of 28 fights. “The Leech,” known for his ability to absorb punishment, went down late in the second round.
In addition to that bonus, the second Performance of the Night award went to Kai Kara-France, who earned his 12th first-round KO/TKO by dispatching Steve Erceg early. With the current state of the flyweight division with no standout title challenger, that may have punched Kara-France’s ticket to a shot at Alexandre Pantoja.
Fight of the Night, not at all a surprise, went to Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker, whose lightweight war ended in a split decision. Not a robbery, and a fight that could have gone either way, it was Hooker getting the nod from the judges.
The four bonus-winners at UFC 305 will collect an extra $50,000 for their efforts.
