The top fighters confirmed to be in action at UFC 305 on August 17 took to the stage for an on-sale press conference in the event’s host city this week.
Mixed martial arts’ leading promotion will return to Perth next month for the first time since last February. On that occasion, the RAC Arena played host to local favorite Alexander Volkanovski’s competitive lightweight title challenge against Islam Makhachev.
This time around, the venue will mark the location for the long-awaited comeback of another standout from the Oceanic region, former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Having not competed since his second reign came to a sudden end at the hands of Sean Strickland in Sydney last September, “The Last Stylebender” will look to return to the throne at the expense of rival Dricus Du Plessis, who unseated Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto this past January.
Also on the lineup is a teammate of Adesanya’s in Kai Kara-France. With concussion issues keeping him out of a fight close to home 10 months ago and leaving him without Octagon action since a narrow loss to Amir Albazi last May, “Don’t Blink” will look to reinsert his name into the title conversation at flyweight.
He likely won’t have the backing of the crowd on August 17, however, as he goes up against Perth’s own Steve Erceg. The contest will mark “Astroboy’s” first since falling short of Alexandre Pantoja’s 125-pound gold at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro a couple of months ago.
With Fight Club Pre-Sale starting on Tuesday, the promotion hosted a press conference in Perth, where Du Plessis, Adesanya, Kara-France, and Erceg all had mics in hand.
See below for a full replay of the presser, followed by all the highlights and one of the longest, most intense faceoffs in recent memory between the two UFC 305 headliners.
