UFC middleweight champ Dricus du Plessis has been likened to Irish megastar Conor McGregor due to his ability to break opponents mentality – yet the South African insists it will also be his fight IQ that proves the difference at UFC 305.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia on the eve of his first title defence, du Plessis has vowed to silence both arch rival Israel Adesanya and all those critics who suggest his fight style “sucks” — which, apparently, includes Canadian rapper Drake.
In an intriguing side note to one of the greatest grudge matches in UFC history, Drake took to Instagram on Saturday to show he had wagered US$450,000 on Adesanya to reclaim his crown in Perth today.
UFC 305 LIVE FROM PERTH: DU PLESSIS VS ADESANYA | SUN 18 AUG 12PM AEST | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
Izzy bursts into TEARS after wild tirade | 00:56
Should he collect on a bet worth $670,000 in Australian dollars, the famed punter will earn an estimated $1.2 million.
Earlier this week however, DDP reduced his rival to tears at an emotional, and at times explosive, UFC press conference, prompting plenty of analysts to recount how the South African had also done the same to America’s Sean Strickland prior to taking the strap from him in January.
Popular UFC commentator Jon Anik even went so far as to compare the UFC champ to McGregor, given his ability to break opponents before entering the Octagon.
However du Plessis insists it will be his mind, rather than mouth, that proves most crucial to defending his gold strap for the first time against Adesanya, a fighter widely considered among the greatest of the modern era.
Elsewhere, the champ also laughed off those critics who have panned his fight style as awkward, unconventional, even likened it to “a gorilla on roller skates”.
Told there had been plenty of negative connotations given to his style, which has been branded awkward, sloppy, even likened to that ape on skates, DDP grinned: “It’s very true what you’re saying.
“Although my style, I didn’t even know it was considered awkward until my third UFC fight.
“That’s when people started saying ‘hey, what is this guy doing?’.
“I didn’t know what they meant.
“I thought ‘what? This is how I fight’.
Izzy addresses ABSURD instagram rumours | 00:33
“But as the comments kept coming I started to think ‘am I fighting weird?’.
“Then I realised that the Americans have a style of fighting, the Russians, the Brazilians … the world just didn’t know about our style and the way we train in our gym.
“The reason I fight the way I do, I see the mistakes people make fighting conventionally.
“The ‘normal’ way of doing that.
“So my coaches and I, we’ve discussed how maybe if we stand like this, move like that we can be more effective.
“That’s why we move the way we move.
“And initially, people couldn’t believe it.
“They were saying ‘this guy sucks … I can’t believe he’s won two in a row, three in a row’ … but now I’m the one with that golden belt.”
Which, importantly, the champ credits to fight IQ
“Which is a very important skill,” he said.
“And I’ve seen a lot of guys who keep sticking to a plan when it’s not working.
“But I can change.
“In my fight against Brad Tavares (in 2022), I went back to the corner after the first round and said ‘wow, whatever we planned for this fight isn’t working’.
“And my coach agreed, said ‘definitely not’.
“I said ‘the kick isn’t working, I can’t catch him with that, it’s a terrible idea, we need to switch it up completely’.
“And in terms of how opposite I had to then fight – it was like one game plan was ‘up’ and the second was ‘down’.
“And that’s what won me that fight.
Adesanya & Dricus go FACE TO FACE! | 00:54
“Then in the Strickland fight, while I lost the first round I could still see that things were working.
“So while I had to make some adjustments, they were more about head movement.
“(Initially) I thought I’d walk through them … but you couldn’t just take the jabs because while they weren’t hard, they were on the money.
“So I had to make that slight adjustment.
“But the game plan was working and by the second round I’d caught up and by the third it was a runaway.”
Certainly one man who seems to have little love for the champ is Drake, who famously lost $500,000 betting on Sean Strickland to beat DDP in his most recent outing in January.
While the Canadian did back Alex Pereira to win at UFC 300, his long run of losing bets in the past has seen athletes backed by him considered to have The Drake Curse.
As revealed by Fox Sports Australia, local punters have been rushing to back the champion over the first half of the week, with DDP holding 70 per cent of the head-to-head betting as late as Friday morning.
While the South African had started as an outsider, the weight of money meant that by late on Saturday night both he and Adesanya were at $1.90 each.
‘I will show you who you are!’ | 01:25
The late betting plunge comes as UFC commentator Anik told MMA Junkie this week there is “no doubt” du Plessis has risen up to become one of the best trash talkers in the UFC.
Prior to his UFC 297 title fight against Strickland, the fighter dubbed ‘Stillknocks’ also caused his rival to become emotional after taking aim at his childhood trauma.
While the UFC has had some incredibly entertaining trash talkers over the years – think the likes of Chael Sonnen, Rampage Jackson and Michael Bisping — Anik has compared Du Plessis to that undeniable king of UFC press events.
Asked if DDP was now among the greatest trash talkers in the UFC, Anik replied: “There’s no doubt.
“And not unlike Conor McGregor there’s nothing really scripted.
“Certainly there is pre-thought, but he’s just aureating naturally and he’s getting under the skin of high level opponents that maybe shouldn’t be taking that sort of bait.”
HOW TO WATCH
Aussie fight fans can catch all the action for UFC 305 LIVE on Main Event via Kayo.
Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.
WHEN IS IT?
UFC 305 takes place on Sunday 18 August at RAC Arena in Perth.
START TIME (ALL TIMES AEST)
The action gets underway early on Sunday morning with the early prelims commencing at 8.30am.
The prelims will follow from 10am before the main card at 12pm.
Expect du Plessis and Adesanya to make their walk to the octagon just after 2pm.
FULL FIGHT CARD
Main card (from 12pm AEST)
Dricus du Plessis (c) v Israel Adesanya – for middleweight title
Kai Kara-France v Steve Erceg – flyweight
Mateusz Gamrot v Dan Hooker – lightweight
Tai Tuivasa v Jairzinho Rozenstruik – heavyweight
Li Jingliang v Carlos Prates – welterweight
Prelims (from 10am AEST)
Junior Tafa v Valter Walker – heavyweight
Josh Culibao v Ricardo Ramos – featherweight
Casey O’Neill v Luana Santos – flyweight
Jack Jenkins v Herbert Burns – featherweight
Early prelims (from 8.30am AEST)
Tom Nolan v Alex Reyes – lightweight
Song Kenan v Ricky Glenn – welterweight
Stewart Nicoll v Jesus Aguilar – flyweight
LIVE BLOG
Source Agencies
