UFC 305 pre-event facts: Israel Adesanya can make rare history with third divisional title reign

The UFC's ninth numbered event of 2024 takes place Saturday, and it will take place far across the globe with a massive grudge match in the headliner.

UFC 305 is set to unfold at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, with a main card on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. In the final act of the evening, [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] will attempt to make his first title defense when he takes on former two-time champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag], who enters the event with the chance to make history.

Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) have plenty of motivation to hurt each other come fight night, and the numbers indicate it could be a memorable affair.

For more on all the statistics around the card, check below for MMA Junkie's pre-event facts about UFC 305.

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Dricus Du Plessis

Du Plessis is one of 14 undisputed middleweight champions in UFC history.

Du Plessis is the only South African champion in UFC history.

Du Plessis is one of five fighters in UFC history to force a title change by split decision. Alexandre Pantoja, Robbie Lawler, Henry Cejudo and Carla Esparza also accomplished the feat.

Du Plessis' seven-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is the longest active streak in the division.

Du Plessis has earned 19 of his 21 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished eight of those wins in Round 1.

Du Plessis lands 6.49 significant strikes per minute in UFC middleweight competition, the highest rate in divisional history.

Israel Adesanya

Adesanya is one of 14 fighters in UFC history to win an undisputed title with an undefeated record.

Adesanya is one of 14 undisputed middleweight champions in UFC history. He’s the only one in the group to have two separate title reigns.

Adesanya can become the second fighter in UFC history to have three separate title reigns in a single weight class. Randy Couture also accomplished the feat.

Adesanya’s eight victories in UFC middleweight title fights are second-most in history behind Anderson Silva (11).

Adesanya fell to 1-2 in his past three fights.

Adesanya’s average fight time of 17:49 in UFC middleweight competition is the longest in divisional history.

Adesanya’s 13 knockdowns landed in UFC middleweight competition are tied with Silva for most in divisional history.

Adesanya's four knockdowns landed against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 are the single-fight record for a UFC title bout.

Adesanya’s eight fight-night bonuses for UFC middleweight bouts are tied with Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker for second-most in divisional history behind Silva (12).

Kai Kara-France vs. Steve Erceg

[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] (24-11 MMA, 7-4 UFC) defends 88 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC flyweight competition, the second-best rate in divisional history behind Ian McCall (90 percent).

Kara-France's five fight-night bonuses for UFC flyweight bouts are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Demetrious Johnson (nine) and Brandon Moreno (seven).

Mateusz Gamrot vs. Dan Hooker

[autotag]Dan Hooker[/autotag] (23-12 MMA, 13-8 UFC) is 2-0 since he returned to the lightweight division in November 2022.

Hooker defends 87.9 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC lightweight competition, the third-best rate among active fighters in the weight class behind Islam Makhachev (90.9 percent) and Rafael Fiziev (89.4 percent).

Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik

[autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag]'s (14-7 MMA, 8-7 UFC) four-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2022.

Tuivasa is 5-7 in his past 12 fights after starting his career 10-0.

Tuivasa is one of two heavyweights in UFC history to earn a knockout stemming from a flying knee. Fabricio Werdum also accomplished the feat.

Tuivasa is one of four heavyweights in UFC history to earn knockouts stemming from a knee and an elbow strike. Alistair Overeem, Cheick Kongo and Walt Harris also accomplished the feat.

[autotag]Jairzinho Rozenstruik[/autotag]'s (14-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) eight TKO/knockout victories since 2019 in UFC competition are the most among active fighters in the company.

Rozenstruik is the only fighter in UFC history to earn three knockout victories of 30 seconds or less.

Rozenstruik’s nine-second knockout at UFC on ESPN+ 12 is the second-fastest in UFC heavyweight history behind Todd Duffee’s seven-second finish at UFC 102.

Rozenstruik’s knockout of Alistair Overeem at the 4:56 mark of Round 5 at UFC on ESPN 7 marked the third latest stoppage in UFC history behind Demetrious Johnson’s win (4:59 of Round 5) at UFC 186 and Yair Rodriguez’s victory (4:59 of Round 5) at UFC Fight Night 139.

Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates

[autotag]Li Jingliang[/autotag] (19-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Sept. 10, 2022. The 707-day layoff is the longest of his nearly 17-year career.

Jingliang's eight knockout victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied with Thiago Alves and Vicente Luque for second-most in divisional history behind Matt Brown (12).

Jingliang’s 10 knockdowns landed in UFC welterweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Thiago Alves (13), Jake Ellenberger (11) and Brown (11).

Jingliang’s seven fight-night bonuses for UFC welterweight bouts are tied for fifth-most in divisional history behind Chris Lytle (10), Brown (nine), Stephen Thompson (eight) and Luque (eight).

Joshua Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos

[autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) is 3-4 since he moved up to the featherweight division in November 2019.

Ramos is one of two fighters in UFC history to earn multiple knockout victories stemming from a spinning back elbow. Molly McCann also accomplished the feat.

Ramos has earned two of the eight spinning back elbow knockouts in UFC history. McCann, Dong Hyun Kim, Jiri Prochazka, Brunno Ferreira and Uros Medic also accomplished the feat.

Ramos completes 58.3 percent of his takedown attempts in UFC featherweight competition, the second-highest rate in divisional history behind Diego Brandao (68 percent).

Casey O'Neill vs. Luana Santos

[autotag]Casey O'Neill[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting her career 9-0.

O’Neill lands 8.41 significant strikes per minute in UFC competition, the highest rate in company history.

Jack Jenkins vs. Herbert Burns

[autotag]Herbert Burns[/autotag]’ (11-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2020.

Song Kenan vs. Ricky Glenn

[autotag]Ricky Glenn[/autotag]'s (22-8-2- MMA, 4-5-1 UFC) three-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn't earned a victory since June 2021.

Glenn moves up to the welterweight division after spending his previous 10 octagon appearances at lightweight and featherweight.

Glenn will attempt to become the 19th fighter in UFC history to earn victories in three weight classes.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 305.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 305 pre-event facts: Israel Adesanya can make rare history with third divisional title reign