Du Plessis just underwent surgery to fix a sinus issue that had him getting a tiny fraction of the Oxygen needed to fight at an elite level.
Following UFC 287, Israel Adesanya addressed some comments made by Dricus Du Plessis about not being a “real” African champion, saying “I will gladly drag his carcass across South Africa.”
With a potential UFC Africa event being looked at for Senegal sometime in the future, a Nigeria vs. South Africa rivalry sounds pretty good. The only problem? Most fans aren’t buying it. While “DDP” has a solid 5-0 record in UFC with wins over Darren Till and Derek Brunson, his gas tank has looked awful suspect.
And once his gas tank goes, everything else gets pretty damn sloppy as well.
It’s hard to imagine the current version of Du Plessis doing well against a sniper like Adesanya. But, Du Plessis’ coach has come out to reveal some important news: his student has received nose surgery, which will drastically fix his ability to breath during fights.
“As a coach I don’t believe it’s my place to get involved with the politics between the fighters, but today I do,” Morne Visser wrote on Instagram. “Dricus has been crucified by many watching him fighting in the UFC for his gas tank. Well here are some facts never disclosed to the public or his opponents. He has just had a nose surgery which was suppose to happen 3 years ago. Total oxygen intake threw both his nostrils of about 8% for the last 3 years.
“We signed with the UFC knowing this but we also knew that you don’t say NO for ANY fight that the boss man Dana White offers you (he doesn’t like pissy’s) we fought 3 times in the last 7 months crushing our opponents with almost no oxygen during the rounds. The problem was fixed last week.”
And then Visser couldn’t help but add to the drama surrounding who is a real African fighter … and who is not.
“So Izzy you are in s— with your one dimensional fighting style,” he wrote. “We are not going to wait for the UFC to come to South Africa. We will take the belt from you in August this year and if you are still in the game you can come and try to take it back in South Africa when the UFC comes to South Africa. As proven Dricus ‘the real African with a African passport’ finishes careers like in his last 3 fights in the UFC with only 8% oxygen.
“JUST IMAGINE WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO TO YOU the NEW ZEALANDER with a full gas tank.”
What do you think, Maniacs? Does a properly oxygenated Du Plessis stand a chance against “The Last Stylebender?”