UFC 305 judge removed for "criminal" scorecard, Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis bury hatchet, Craig Jones beats Gabi Garcia: MMA News Roundup
Saturday's UFC 305 ended with an explosive fight between the middleweight headliners, but it also saw some controversies. Elsewhere, in the other event of the night, Craig Jones faced Gabi Garcia in an intergender grappling match.
Here are your top combat sports updates for today, presented by Sportskeeda MMA.
UFC 305 judge replaced after 30-27 scorecard
MMA judge Howie Booth found himself at the center of a raging controversy following his 27-30 scorecard for the Tai Tuivasa vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight at UFC 305.
The three-round fight ended in a split decision victory for 'Bigi Boy'. Two judges scored the fight in Rozenstruik's favor, while Booth scored it in favor of Tuivasa. It came as a surprise as 'Bam Bam' was visibly underwhelming in the fight, which was reflected in the significant strike statistics as well.
In light of the controversy, Kevin Iole reported that Booth was removed from judging the UFC 305 co-main event of the night between Kai-Kara France and Steve Erceg. Jon Anik later confirmed the same on the live UFC 305 broadcast. Booth was replaced by Ben Cartlidge.
Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis show class after a bitter rivalry
Despite the racially-charged buildup to the fight, Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis were all class after UFC 305. Tapping 'The Last Stylebender' out in the fourth round with a rear-naked choke and handing him his first submission loss, du Plessis showered respect on his opponent. He also apologized for his previous comments about "African UFC champions."
"I'm really sorry it came across that I disrespected the fact that he was from Africa. That was never my intention... It was an honor for me to share this cage with a legend like that. I have the utmost respect for him."
Watch Dricus du Plessis' comments below:
The two shared a backstage moment where du Plessis even shook hands with Adesanya's parents and embraced them.
Adesanya returned the respect during the UFC 305 press conference, declaring that he was now "a fan" of the South African. Later, he thanked 'Stillknocks' for his "honest words" in an Instagram post.
Craig Jones chokes out Gabi Garcia
Craig Jones, who has been lightheartedly feuding with Gabi Garcia for years, settled the beef in an intergender super fight at CJI on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
After kissing Garcia during the pre-fight face-off, Jones went on to walk out at the event drinking alcohol followed by stripping down to a speedo. However, when the fight started, Jones looked as good as always. He had Garcia in positions to break her limbs a couple of times but refused to go ahead with inflicting any potential injury and resorted to a rear-naked choke.
Garcia was visibly emotional after the fight but not because of her loss. She said amid chants of her name:
"I want to cry because I see all this [crowd]. Guys, thank you everybody for coming here. Thank you, Craig, for what he did for the sport, it’s amazing. The thing for me is you guys because when we die the medal and the plates don’t go with me, but I will be alive in all of you guys and I think, never fight for a medal, fight for what you love and what you believe." [H/t Bloody Elbow]
Jones broke his character and set aside his comical shtick to say a few kind words about Garcia after the fight. He shared with the crowd that Garcia had given up a spot in the ADCC Hall of Fame to face Jones at CJI, which he thought was "crazy."