UFC 305 Predictions, Picks & Betting Odds ft. Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya: Du Plessis Defends His Title

Jan 20, 2024; Toronto, Canada, USA; Dricus Du Plessis (blue gloves) celebrates defeating Sean Strickland (red glove) during UFC 297 at ScotiaBank Arena.
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Matthew Lowrimore

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Matthew has been with Pickswise for a while now, covering a wide variety of sports. His main passions are college football and UFC, and those are the sports he has covered the most. Matthew uses a variety of methods to handicap games, including stats, trends, injuries, and situational factors. His goal is to consistently give out winners and will put in the research to try and achieve this. For Matt Lowrimore media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.
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UFC 305 takes place on Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. This card features a UFC Middleweight title fight between Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya as the Main Event.

Here are our UFC 305 best bets, which will include 1 fight on the Main Card and 2 on the Preliminary Card. Be sure to also check out the rest of our UFC predictions for all of the UFC 305 Main Card fights scheduled for Saturday night.

UFC 305 Main Card Best Bet

Dricus Du Plessis ML over Israel Adesanya (-105)

The Main Event at UFC 305 will see Dricus Du Plessis take on Israel Adesanya. This will be a fight in the UFC Middleweight division and will be a fight for the UFC Middleweight title.

Du Plessis comes into this fight with an MMA record of 21-2 and he is 7-0 in the UFC. He is averaging 6.49 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 50%. Du Plessis is absorbing 4.77 strikes and has a striking defense of 55%. His grappling has also been elite in the UFC, averaging 3.00 takedowns per every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 51% and a takedown defense of 40%.

Adesanya comes into this fight with an MMA record of 24-3 and he is 13-3 in the UFC. He is averaging 3.93 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 48%. Adesanya is absorbing 3.11 strikes and has a striking defense of 56%. His grappling, however, is much less prominent, averaging 0.05 takedowns per every 15 minutes. Further, Adesanya has a takedown accuracy of 14% and his takedown defense of 77%.

Even though Du Plessis currently holds the UFC Middleweight title, Adesanya is the slight favorite. That said, Du Plessis still looks to be a solid bet to defend his title. He has the significant edge in both striking and grappling. Plus, he has never lost in the UFC, while Adesanya has lost 2 of his last 3 UFC fights. Because Du Plessis is in better form, backing him to win and defend his title will be our best bet.

You can also read our UFC 305 parlay at +522 odds!

UFC 305 Preliminary Card Best Bets

Luana Santos ML over Casey O’Neil (-142)

Luana Santos comes into this fight with an MMA record of 8-1 and she is 3-0 in the UFC. She is averaging 5.33 significant strikes per minute, and she has a striking accuracy of 55%. Santos is absorbing 3.21 strikes and has a striking defense of 65%. Her grappling is also solid, averaging 2.03 takedowns per every 15 minutes and 2.0 submission attempts during the same period. Santos also has a takedown accuracy of 60% and her takedown defense is 66%.

Santos is the favorite in this fight and looks to be the best bet. Casey O’Neil on the other hand, has lost her last 2 fights in the UFC. Because Santos has been perfect in this UFC and O’Neil has struggled recently, going with Santos will be the play.

Valter Walker ML over Justin Tafa (+110)

Valter Walker comes into this fight with an MMA record of 11-1 and he is 0-1 in the UFC. He is averaging 2.20 significant strikes per minute and has a striking accuracy of 49%. Walker is absorbing 3.87 strikes and has a striking defense of 43%. His grappling has also been elite, averaging 4.00 takedowns per every 15 minutes. He has a takedown accuracy of 80% and has not had to defend a takedown in the UFC yet.

Justin Tafa is the slight favorite in this fight, but Walker looks to be the better play. Walker has slightly better striking and superior grappling. Even though he lost his UFC debut, Tafa has also struggled in the UFC, having started just 1-2. For that reason, let’s roll with Walker.

Check out the rest of our UFC picks for every main card fight at UFC 305!

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