Dricus Du Plessis' Reign Enters a Higher Speed or Dricus Du Plessis' Reign Accelerates Further
MMA Domination After clinching the UFC middleweight crown by edging out Sean Strickland via split decision in Vancouver, Canada last January, Dricus du Plessis pronounced he'd put an end to any doubts about his supremacy in the rematch, and he kept his word in brutal fashion.
"Stillknocks", who, in his first title defense as the 185-pound king, became the first man to submit former two-time champion Israel Adesanya in Perth this past August, showcased his improvement from their initial encounter with Strickland by dominating the sequel from start to finish.
In the best shape of his life, du Plessis outworked "Tarzan" from the opening bell, shattered his nose in round four, and pulled further ahead as the fight wore on to put an end to their rivalry.
*Fighting Academy* What du Plessis achieved was a display of awkward brilliance. Strickland is one of the hardest fighters to hit in MMA due to his Philly Shell stance. Thus, the damage du Plessis inflicted on him was nothing short of astonishing.
The 31-year-old accomplished this by learning from the mistakes of their first meeting, evolving his overall skillset, and tweaking his game plan. In the first fight, he head-hunted too much and secured a handful of takedowns. In Sunday's match, he adopted a diverse, kick-heavy style, avoiding forced takedowns, a strategy that proved successful.
He excelled at mixing up his strikes to the body, legs, and head, attacking from various angles, and had considerable success with his left kicks in particular. To keep Strickland off balance even more, he landed a spinning back fist, a spinning elbow in the third round, and finished the round with the only takedown of the fight.
Round four was where the body and leg work bore fruit, as it left Strickland vulnerable on top, and du Plessis capitalized with a beautiful right hook that shattered the 33-year-old's nose. Whether you admire him or despise him, Strickland deserves credit for the tenacity he showed in refusing to wilt and resetting his nose, only for du Plessis to shatter it once more.
Calmer, more calculated, and more accurate than in their initial encounter, du Plessis landed a staggering 52 leg kicks, doubling his previous best, 45 body shots, and 50 blows to the head in a near shutout, with the reigning king receiving scores of 50-45, 50-45, and 50-46 from the judges.
Unorthodox he may be, but there's no denying he's the best middleweight on the planet, and he's only getting better. Sunday's victory extended his UFC win streak to nine, placing him among the top three winning streaks in middleweight history, tied with Chris Weidman, behind only Anderson Silva (13) and Adesanya (12).
Du Plessis, who has won 11 fights in a row overall and improved to 23-2, said at the post-fight press conference he was pleased he was able to demonstrate progression and prove a point.
"To go out there and beat him at his own game was a big, big priority because to go out there and fight the same fight as in Toronto, I could have done the exact same thing, but I didn't," he said. "I told you guys the whole week, I'm going to try to knock him out or submit him or if this goes to a decision, complete domination, and that's what happened."
As for the future, du Plessis sent a message to light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in his Octagon interview, but he clarified that while he'd like a future matchup with "Poatan" at 205 pounds, he knows the Brazilian has a title fight against Magomed Ankalaev next month and stressed that undefeated Khamzat Chimaev is the man he wants to defend his title against first.
"Khamzat's first. I wished him all the best, I said, 'Please beat Ankalaev.' No hate against Ankalaev, I just want to beat Alex Pereira," said du Plessis. "Pereira is such a legend in the sport to me already that it would be amazing to beat him for my legacy. I want to be the greatest to ever do this, but Khamzat's next. Khamzat is next."
When asked about his strategy for a potential fight against Chimaev, du Plessis said, "I'll just I'll outwrestle him. Yeah, that's the game plan...sounds good."
- Dricus du Plessis demonstrated a diverse fighting style in his rematch against Sean Strickland, focusing more on kicks and avoiding forced takedowns, a strategy that proved successful.
- Israel Adesanya, formerly a two-time UFC champion, was the first man to be submitted by du Plessis in Perth this past August, showingcase improvement from their initial encounter.
- Following his victory over Strickland, du Plessis announced his desire to challenge light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, expressing his ambition to defend his title against the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev first.
- Du Plessis achieved a near shutout victory over Strickland in their rematch, landing a staggering 52 leg kicks, doubling his previous best, along with 45 body shots and 50 blows to the head.
- In the best shape of his life, du Plessis outworked Strickland from the opening bell, shattered his nose in round four, and displayed awkward brilliance, proving his supremacy in the MMA sports, particularly in mixed-martial-arts and rugby betting circles.
