Dricus Du Plessis Hints at Previous Humiliating Performance for Choosing Kamaru Usman Bout

Dricus Du Plessis hinted that a past humiliating performance played a key role in his decision to pursue a fight with Kamaru Usman.

Dricus Du Plessis Hints at Previous Humiliating Performance for Choosing Kamaru Usman Bout

Dricus Du Plessis reveals his reason behind choosing the Kamaru Usman fight [via MMA Fighting and BJ Penn.com]

Dricus Du Plessis is returning to action as he fights former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman next month. This marks the South African’s first appearance in the cage since losing his 185lbs belt last year. As such, it appears that the loss played a factor in him choosing Usman as his comeback opponent.

At UFC 319, ‘Stillknocks’ put up his middleweight belt on the line against Khamzat Chimaev. He was subsequently beaten from pillar to post by the Chechen, who won a dominant decision over him. Chimaev also set a new record for most ground control in a middleweight title fight. That fight highlighted some serious holes in the former champion’s ground game.

As such, Du Plessis has hinted at how his failed title defense led to this fight with the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ materializing. The 23-3 middleweight explained that he wants to show the rest of the contenders in the middleweight division that he has plugged the holes in his MMA game and is ready to grapple with the former amateur wrestler if need be.

People say, ‘Why don’t you fight Imavov?’ I don’t mind that fight either…Why would I fight another striker, people gonna be like, ‘We know you can strike, what about wrestling and grappling?’ Cause of my last fight…I want to go out there and show what I’ve done… go show the problem that the middleweights have on their hands now. Because now I am more complete.

Dricus Du Plessis via Fight Forecast

Dricus Du Plessis also revealed that Kamaru Usman was initially hesitant to accept the fight and needed to be convinced by the UFC to do so.

Now, I know he didn’t want to sign the contract. I know that for a fact. I spoke to UFC and they said, we’re finally convincing to sign. If you need convincing to sign, that’s a problem. But I can’t blame him. I would also not want to fight me right now.

Dricus Du Plessis via Fight Forecast

That said, the South African still gave credit to Kamaru Usman for his win over current middleweight champion Sean Strickland and close fight against former champion, Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294.

Du Plessis also suggested that given the current UFC landscape, with upsets in the book like Justin Gaethje beating Ilia Topuria, Usman cannot be counted out despite him being 38 years old.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see the adjustments he makes after a lacklustre showing against ‘Borz’ last August. However, incomplete or not, ‘Stillknocks’ has one of the most unique skillsets in all of MMA. Last year, before he rematched Sean Strickland, two of DDP’s former opponents broke down how tricky his style can be to face.

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Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker comments on Dricus Du Plessis’ unorthodox style

Dricus Du Plessis turned heads when he upset former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. He knocked out the ‘Reaper’ in the second round, shocking the MMA world as most expected the Australian to make light work of him. However, DDP cemented himself as one of the best middleweights by handing Israel Adesanya his first-ever submission loss at UFC 305.

Dricus Du Plessis
Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker discuss Dricus Du Plessis’ odd fighting style [via The Mac Life and MMA Fighting]

The South African former champion quickly submitted Adesanya after landing a takedown in the fourth round of a largely competitive fight in Australia. Following these bouts, the ‘Last Stylebender’ and Whittaker got together to train and hang out with each other.

During this linkup, the former champions eventually arrived at the topic of DDP’s fighting style while breaking down UFC 311 on the FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel.

But one thing about Dricus Du Plessis is just [he is] awkward. He would throw just to stop you in your tracks… I had to stop. So it stopped my momentum and I had to reset. So he’s just weird, man. He’s so good.

Israel Adesanya via his YouTube channel

Whittaker also added how deceptively quick Dricus Du Plessis can be, reminiscing about how the 32-year-old appeared slow to him at the start of their fight.

I remember when I saw him in the first 30 seconds, I was like, ‘Dude, he’s so slow.’ You know what I mean? But then like, then I got punched in the face.

Robert Whittaker said

A lot has been made of the South African’s unconventional fighting style over the years. However, it cannot be argued that his goofy-looking blitzes and awkward takedown attempts produce results. But after his first UFC loss at the hands of Khamzat Chimaev, it will be interesting to see how Dricus Du Plessis rebounds in his upcoming fight.

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