#dricus du plesis

[defensefilms]

UFC 305 Review: Du Plessis Defeats Adesanya

With a victory via submission, of all things, Dricus Du Plessis has successfully defended the middleweight championship against Israel Adesanya.

Considering what the press conferences were like in the days leading up to the bout, and what appeared to be some more than testy barbs, this bout did not have the kind of exchanges that I thought we would have seen in the early rounds.

Instead, right from the start it looked like Dricus had the edge in finding striking opportunities, and so much so that he didn't really need to attempt too many takedowns, landing just 2 throughout the duration of the fight.

Taking a look at the stats, and most shocking of all is how Dricus was able to press the advantage with leg kicks, taking a page out of Izzy's playbook.

Pressure paid in this fight, Izzy could never quite get his counter strikes going, and even though stats indicate he got the better of the striking in total, the fight was fought at Dricus' pace for 90% of it.

He was also really good at staying in Izzy's airspace, creating pressure and getting in to clinch positions.

For Adesanya, this bout proved that UFC middleweights have finally caught up with Izzy, and that he will still be remembered as arguably the greatest middleweight of all time, until someone can tie his streak.

That's an incredible legacy, both in the sport and the UFC, and if he was going to take a loss, I'd rather it be to Dricus than anyone else.

It was cool to see both guys congratulate each other and be more amicable after the bout, something I didn't see happening based on the build-up to 305.

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UFC 305 Preview: Du Plessis vs Adesanya

Now the biggest thing here is going to be in the striking game, because as much as I like Adesanya, I have to admit, he's not the guy from two years ago, and a lot of it has to do with how Sean Strickland kind of gave the blueprint on how to beat him at UFC 293.

The strategy to keep Izzy moving, as opposed to standing and trading like Paulo Costa did, showed how Izzy could be limited with the right kind of pressure.

It's not just the memories of the Sean Strickland fight that have me worried for Izzy either.

Head on over to UFC stats, and among the big discrepancies in both Du Plessis' and Adesanya's stats, is the volume of their striking and that indicates two guys who fight at very different paces, and it's Du Plessis who is more active averaging 4.77 strike attempts per minute.

That's the key for Dricus. A high enough rate of activity to keep Adesanya from being able to pick his spots.

I do fear what could happen if Dricus were to gas out, and in particular if he falls back on his habit of lunging/ leaping at his opponent, because that's the kind of thing Izzy will have an easy time countering.

Last month, Belal Muhammad proved one of combat sports oldest adages. "Pressure busts pipes", and Belal was great at working inside pressure to set up takedowns.

Maintaining pressure and staying in Izzy's airspace, does 3 things. Keeps you in punching distance, it allows you to engage the clinch and it also keeps you in takedown and grapple territory.

That's the part that I think most favors Du Plessis in this one, is the grappling and Izzy seems to be aware of this, and he looks like he's bulked up and put on some muscle for this one, not just for the sake of defending takedowns, but also to take and deliver damage.

For Izzy this may be the biggest test of his time in the UFC and most pros and analysts that I have listened to are picking Dricus to win.

Izzy needs to come up with a strategy that keeps DDP at distance and allows him to be the aggressor in striking, and utilize all the space to exploit his movement.

Dricus is very awkward in striking, and having slower feet is something Izzy's gameplan needs to incorporate in to his gameplan, and he cannot allow Dricus to control the space and keep his back to the cage.

Now here's the caveat to all of this strategic minutia, in MMA history, when two fighters have a personal dislike for each other, all tactics go out the window and the fighter just trade up.

That's where we probably are in this bout.

I don't remember Israel Adesanya having this kind of dislike towards an opponent. Dricus has had a bunch of fights like this, where the dislike felt more personal than professional, but the difference is this time the dislike is mutual.

So with all this in mind, I am going to pick Dricus Du Plessis to win at UFC 305, because I just think Dricus has more ways to win.

The key to beating Izzy is taking away his advantage on the feet, and if Dricus can establish pressure, keep Izzy moving and then work some takedowns in to it, he'll likely pull it off.

[defensefilms]

Dana White Proves He Is Unprofessional After Dricus And Sean Strickland Brawl

UFC 296 has proven to be memorable for more reasons than what could be seen in the octagon after UFC 297 opponents Dricus Du Plesis and Sean Strickland got in to a brawl in the crowded area of UFC 296 in Las Vegas.

Now you can argue that one could feel the tension rising between these two after they had one of the most controversial press conferences in recent memory on Friday, and it's safe to say that it got personal between the two.

That is one thing but the bigger issue, is how do these two guys get seated this close to each other, a few weeks before thier scheduled fight, knowing the kind of tension that is builiding up between them.

Look no further than Dana White himself.

I have massive issues with Dana White and I think it's actually a problem that the UFC don't have the option to fire this guy because there was no risk to risk the cheap promotional juice that came with seating them this close to each other.

I won't tie this in to my other issues with Dana White regarding fighter pay, his involvement with Power Slap and his general control of MMA media, but this is a massive gaff that could have resulted in the cancellation of the main event of UFC 297.

Now I am aware of the hypocrisy or conflict of interest as far as Dricus using Sean Strickland's personal life against him, but Dricus explains that Sean is more than happy to talk about the personal lives of other fighters, most recently mentioning Ian Garry's relationship with his wife on social media.

There is a bit of hypocrisy here from Strickland and in general, the safe thing to do is not talk about people's personal lives.

However never forget, that for all the ways Dana White is trusted to steer the ship that is UFC and the monopoly that they are, Dana White unnecessarily risked the main event of an upcoming ppv, because of not reading the situation correctly.

[defensefilms]

UFC 290 Preview: Dricus Du Plesis vs Robert Whitaker

For 4 years, Dricus Du Plesis reigned as the undisputed king of South Africa’s top MMA promotion, the EFC.

Challengers would arrive that would test him, namely in the form of Gareth “Soldier Boy” McLellan, but for the most part Dricus was the man in the EFC, and true to form that stage proved to no longer be big enough for him.

In 2018 Dricus would have a total of 3 fights in London-based promotion KSW, most notably against Roberto Soldic, and in 2020, Dricus Du Plesis would finally make his debut on the UFC stage with a KO victory over Markus Perez at UFC Fight Night 179.

SInce then Dricus has beaten one middleweight after another, amassing a 5-0 undefeated streak and just 1 more win away from an opportunity at the Middleweight title.

Now, I feel that my excitement should be tempered by a couple of things.

I am worried about a couple of things going in to this fight.

Firstly, is Dricus’ conditioning, since joining the EFC, Dricus has bulked up a lot. During the UFC 290 Countdown, Dricus’ coach explained how Dricus has had a problem breathing through his nose in every one of his UFC bouts and this explains why he looks so tired and gassed out midway through his fights.

The other is an issue of mechanics, or rather fighting rhythm. 

One of the big flaws in Du Plesis since transitioning to the UFC and putting on more mass, is that his offense has become more predictable, namely, you can tell when he is about to lunge with a straight right, and if there is an opponent that can punish you for being predictable, it’s Robert Whitaker. 

However, if Dricus can fix his breathing issues and fight as the Dricus we know, none of this will be a factor and Whitaker will be surprised by a more nimble and crisp Dricus and with the footwork to match.

Should Du Plesis try to grapple?

Maybe so, because I feel that a long 5 round fight will favor Whitaker, however grinding Whitaker down. Dricus likely feels he can exploit a weight advantage on the smaller Whitaker, but none of Whitaker’s opponents hae successfully grounds him or kept him off his feet successfully.

And waiting patiently in the background while presiding over the UFC’s middleweight division, is Isreal Adesanya, prowling and sizing up his potential next opponent.

To be honest, the UFC needs Dricus to win this fight, because a third Adesanya-Whitaker fight will be such a hard sell anywhere outside of Australia, and to be fair it needs to happen, because the more Adesanya and Dricus interact, the more it seems to get personal between the two.

[defensefilms]

Adesanya’s Legacy After UFC 287, Dricus Du Plessis Waits In The Wings

In what felt like the least likeliest of the results, Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira via 2nd knockout.

A change in strategy proved to be the wisest thing Adesanya could have resorted to. By opting to close the distance, get close to Pereira and use pressure fighting tactics. 

Not a single take down attempt either and the result, Pereira came out bombing in the 2nd round and then got himelff caught by some well-timed counter rights by Izzy 

Pereira started at a very slow pace and did well to establish the threat of the leg kicks, but the inexperience in MMA came to bear fruit in the 2nd round. Pereira would land 16 of the 21 leg kick that he attempted in the first round, and he tried to change approach in the 2nd and start pressuring, but he also went straight in to Adesanya’s trap. 

That victory not only bring the UFC middleweight ttile home but cements Israel Adesany as the best UFC middleweight of all time.

Do not let the historians or the haters down play how monumental that victory was as far as the history of one of UFC’s premier weight divisions, which has always played home to the best fighter in the world.

What awaits Adesanya in the future, may be slightly more controversial, and I don’t know if I like it.

South African middleweight, Dricus Du Plesis is 5-0 in the UFC and recently has made some noise regarding

I have met Dricus Du Plesis, in person. Another MMA coach that I’ve spent a lot of time around is a guy name Braam Van Dyk, and he’s been around Dricus Du Plesis a whole lot during thier amateur days.

He has a lot of black fighters around him in his gym, and he’s the furthest thing from a racist but what worries me, is that he’s leaning in to the controversy with his recent comments which got a response from Kamaru Usman, and by claiming that by winning the middleweight title, he’d be “the only African to win a belt and bring it back to the continent.

It’s a comment that gets people talking, but also provokes the converstion around African being a race, a culture, or a location, and namely which one of those makes you a real African.

As much as Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya are not Afrcan born, they’ve had to live everyday as African males, with all the things that that comes with.

While this conversation probably needs more nuance than what a sports media conversation can allow for, Dricus looks like he’s in line for a chance at the middleweight title, and a marquee showdown against Israel Adesanya.

And that could turn out to be good news for your boy Defense.

[defensefilms]

UFC 297 Preview: Dricus Du Plesis vs Sean Strickland

I was really worried about how this one would unfold in the build-up, but I'm glad the two fighter have more or less decided to stop talking personal issues, and Dricus' press conference on Thursday shed some light on how the two have decided to proceed with promoting the fight.

Sean Strickland appears to have made the decision to be more composed for the most part and shout out to Sean, for liking my Instagram reel

All told, I believe I have narrowed down the key variables that will swing this fight, and have the break down for you, if you keep reading.

More than anything, this fight could be decided by who is able to pressure forward more.

Sean Strickland showed the value of going forward and controlling the centre against Adesanya at UFC 293, however this fight against Dricus, is going to be contested at a different pace.

If there is a stat that I think matters, it's strikes landed per minute, both Dricus and Strickland are at well over 5 strikes per minute, and that is an indicator of a high-volume, blow-for-blow fight and two guys trading heavy shots.

Sean Strickland's philly shell style is as awkward to deal with as anything you'll see in MMA. it allows him to manage distance and it'l be interesting to see how he deals with Dricus' in and out footwork, and again, whoever has the better execution will likely lead on the scoredcards for most of the fight.

According to UFC stats, Sean Strickland has a takedown defense percentage of 84%, which is outstanding, and stats do indicate that Dricus is sneaky good at takedowns, and he lands an average of 2.72 every 15 minutes, executing atleast one in 4 of his 6 UFC fights,so thats an area that looks like swinging either way.

If numbers are your chosen indicator, the Dricus appear to be more likely to win by knockout, with only one of his UFC fights having ever gone to decision, and Sean Strickland has a history of winning on the judges cards.

According to most bettors and Chael Sonnen, Sean Strickland is the favorite to win this fight, but I would be hard pressed to take this advice seriously.

In conclusion, I'm looking forward to UFC 297, to have my country represented on the UFC stage by someone from my local MMA scene, right here in Pretora, South Africa, baby!!

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