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Valter Walker weighed in on his chaotic win over Junior Tafa at UFC 305 on Saturday.

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Walker took on Tafa in preliminary featherweight matchup at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Walker controlled Tafa on the ground throughout the first round before locking in a heel hook that incited a scream from the New Zealander. While Walker did not tap, referee Steve Perceval called a stop to the contest at 4:52 of the opening frame.

Tafa seemed to only briefly protest the stoppage before squaring up to Walker and slapping his unsuspecting opponent while surrounded by security. Weighing in on the stoppage, Walker says he would have snapped Tafa’s foot if the referee hadn’t intervened.

“If referee not stop, I broke his foot,” Walker said during a post-fight media scrum. “I take his foot to home with me. My coach say, broke and I go to broke. I don’t go for tap, I go for him screaming.”

Walker said Tafa was not a man for cheap shotting him when he couldn’t l…

CASEY O'NEILL'S CELEBRATION 😅 #UFC305 pic.twitter.com/1OXarBr2VT

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 18, 2024

Casey O'Neill celebrated her UFC 305 win with a mimicry of viral Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn’s Olympic performance.

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O’Neill bounced back from a two-fight slump with an emphatic unanimous decision victory over Luana Santos at the RAC Arena on Saturday night in Perth, Australia. “King” celebrated her victory with a mockery of Gunn’s Olympic breakdance performance, which has recently been in headlines.

Speaking of her celebration, O’Neill considers her performance better than the Australian academic-breakdancer known as “Raygun,” who has been dealing with serious online hate for her bizarre show at the Paris 2024 Olympics. O’Neill even joked about taking a hiatus from MMA for a detour into breakdance to represent Australia in the 2028 Olympics.

“I give that a 10. I think I did better than she did in the Oly…

Dan Hooker and Mateusz Gamrot went back-and-forth for three rounds at UFC 305.

While it was Hooker who emerged with a split-decision triumph, both lightweights went home with an additional $50,000 after the bout received “Fight of the Night” honors. Hooker blended effective striking with relatively stout takedown defense to earn the nod from two of the three cageside judges at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Saturday night.

Elsewhere, Kai Kara-France garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for a statement-making victory against Steve Erceg in the flyweight co-main event. “Don’t Blink” initially floored his foe with a left hook before pressuring Erceg against the cage, where he dropped “Astro Boy” again — this time with a right cross. Follow-up punches brought an end to the contest at the 4:04 mark of the opening stanza as Kara-France ended a two-bout skid.

Finally, Carlos Prates received the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” awa…

No one responds to adversity any better the Dricus Du Plessis. In fact, the man seems to feed off of it.

The 30-year-old South African retained his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title in scintillating fashion and turned away Israel Adesanya with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round of their emotionally charged UFC 305 headliner on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth Australia. Adesanya (24-4, 13-4 UFC), who had never before been submitted, raised the white flag of surrender 3:36 into Round 4.

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Du Plessis (22-2, 8-0 UFC) waded through considerable difficulty before he arrived at the finish line. Adesanya zeroed in on his body with hooks from both hands and well-timed kicks, attacked his legs when the mood arose and pieced together stirring combinations to the head. Du Plessis refused to go away. The Team CIT rep executed multiple takedowns—he threatened Adesanya’s neck in the first round in a harbinger of what was in store—and co…

Sherdog's live UFC 305 coverage will begin Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

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BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Nicoll (-230), Aguilar (+190)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Song (-192), Glenn (+160)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:Tristen Critchfield scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Brian Knapp scores the round:…

Valter Walker dug into his bag of tricks and took a small but not insignificant step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division.

The ex-Titan Fighting Championship titleholder disposed of Junior Tafa with a heel hook in the first round of their featured UFC 305 prelim on Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Tafa (5-3, 1-3 UFC) yelled in pain as his adversary isolated his leg and cranked, resulting in the verbal submission.

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UFC 305: Du Plessis vs. Adesanya Saturday at 10 ET on ESPN+. Order Now!

Walker (12-1, 1-1 UFC) withstood power punches from the Soma Fight Club product, secured two takedowns, established a dominant position and eventually targeted a lower extremity. Tafa went nose to nose with the Brazilian in the aftermath and delivered a slap to the side of his head before he was physically escorted to the other side of the cage.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Ramos rode an opportunistic takedown and a near-finish to a …

Brendan Allen punches Marvin Vettori post PFL playoffs @ufc #ufc pic.twitter.com/eU3BxIivxr

— himothy (@Im565097757086) August 17, 2024

Though they have yet to cross paths in the Octagon, that didn’t prevent Brendan Allen and Marvin Vettori from getting into a scuffle on Friday night.

The two UFC middleweights brawled on the casino floor at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, following the PFL 8 playoff card at the same venue. Multiple videos of the altercation have surfaced on social media.

According to a report from MMA Mania, the fight began when Vettori threw a punch at UFC light heavyweight George Tokkos. That prompted Allen to enter the fray and throw punches at “The Italian Dream.”

Vettori appeared to be no worse for wear in a video posted to his Instagram stories.

“One arm Vettori is unbeaten,” he wrote. “Ain’t never missing s—t.”

Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White couldn’t resist taking a shot at the rival pro…

Kayla Harrison is willing to replace either Raquel Pennington or Julianna Pena in their UFC 307 title fight if needed.

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The promotion recently announced Pennington’s title defense against Pena as the co-main event at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Meanwhile, Harrison fights Ketlen Vieira on the same card, with the winner expected to get the next bantamweight title shot.

Harrison doesn’t necessarily agree with the matchups and considers herself deserving of a title shot already. However, she plans to put on a performance that will set her levels apart from not only her opponent, but also from the other two bantamweights fighting for the title.

“I don’t necessarily agree with the decision, but if they want me to smash another skull, I’ll smash another skull,” Harrison told MMAjunkie.com. “I think Ketlen’s good. I’m just at a different level. I’m at a different level from all of them. I’m gonna go out on Oct. 5 and…

Khalil Rountree Jr. receiving a title shot did not sit well with some other light heavyweight contenders.

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It was announced on Friday that Rountree will challenge Alex Pereira for the 205-pound crown at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Former champs Jan Blachowicz and Jamahal Hill immediately took issue with the announcement.

Blachowicz believes the Pereira is receiving “special protection” from the UFC, which the Brazilian doesn’t need.

“With all due respect to Khalil but there are at least two higher ranked contenders who are ready to fight Poatan,” Blachowicz wrote on X. “He doesn’t need special protection.”

With all due respect to Khalil but there are at least two higher ranked contenders who are ready to fight Poatan. He doesn’t need special protection.

— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) August 16, 2024

Meanwhile, Hill, who was scheduled to fight Rountree at UFC 303 in June, broug…

Danny Sabatello says he could be done fighting after a disappointing result in his Professional Fighters League debut.

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Sabatello faced fellow debutant Lazaro Dayron at PFL 8 on Friday, a fight which marked the launch of the promotion’s bantamweight division as well. It was a closely-contested affair, with Lazaro dropping Sabatello in the first round and “The Italian Gangster” answering back with dominant wrestling in the second frame.

While they went toe-to-toe in the final round, a point was deducted from Dayron for a blatant fence grab. However, the fight ended in a controversial majority draw, which has left Sabatello in shock. Without diving into the analysis of their performances, Sabatello believes the point deduction should have been enough to sway the scorecards in his favor.

“I have to go back and look but I don’t see any scenario how he would have won that fight, given they took the point away…And this is huge, this isn’t like a foo…

Daniel Cormier asks Dricus du Plessis how he's getting his opponents emotional:

"I think I might be the problem. Obviously because it's 2/2." 😭😭

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🎥 @ufc #UFC305 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/fnjV5eJWsq — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 16, 2024

Dricus Du Plessis certainly has a knack for making his opponents emotional.

This initially surfaced prior to Du Plessis’ title win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 this past January, when he touched a nerve with his opponent during a pre-fight press conference. “Stillknocks” broached the tender subject of Strickland’s abusive childhood, which led to the then champ threatening to stab Du Plessis.

Du Plessis is now scheduled to defend his title against former champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. The two have long been feuding over the legitimacy of their status as real African champs. While Du Plessis, who lives and trains in South Africa, claims to be the …

[embedded content] The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Australia with a middleweight championship fight atop the card.

Both champion and challenger made weight for the main event grudge match. Middleweight titleholder Dricus Du Plessis came in at 185 pounds on the dot, while former champ Israel Adesanya weighed 184 pounds. All other fighters on the 12-fight card also made weight with the exception of would-be flyweight Jesus Santos Aguilar, who came in 1.5 pounds over the limit for his fight against Stewart Nicoll. Aguilar will be fined a percentage of his purse as a result.

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Du Plessis (21-2) is undefeated inside the Octagon. The South African fighter is on an impressive nine-fight win streak that includes his title win over Sean Strickland and a TKO shocker over Robert Whittaker. "Stillknocks" is looking to cement his title reign at the young age of 30.

Adesanya (24-3) is looking to bounce back after a lackluster decision defeat to Stric…