Tag: dricus du plessis

Classy Kamaru Usman Reacts To Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Win: ‘We’ve Moved On From Three Kings To Four Horsemen’

Kamaru Usman recently expressed his views on Dricus Du Plessis’ impressive win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. “Stillknocks” retained his UFC middleweight championship in commanding style last weekend, submitting Adesanya with a fourth-round rear-naked choke in a thrilling contest at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. In a fiercely contested bout where neither fighter […]

Continue Reading Classy Kamaru Usman Reacts To Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Win: ‘We’ve Moved On From Three Kings To Four Horsemen’ at MMA News.

Kamaru Usman recently expressed his views on Dricus Du Plessis’ impressive win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.

“Stillknocks” retained his UFC middleweight championship in commanding style last weekend, submitting Adesanya with a fourth-round rear-naked choke in a thrilling contest at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

In a fiercely contested bout where neither fighter held back, Du Plessis displayed remarkable grit and determination. As the fight entered the championship rounds, the South African unleashed a relentless flurry of punches that left “The Last Stylebender” reeling. Seizing the momentum, the defending champion secured a takedown and swiftly transitioned to lock in a decisive submission.

Despite a rivalry that had flared up and taken an ugly turn on multiple occasions, Du Plessis and Adesanya finally put their animosity to rest after their historic clash. The bout, steeped in a fierce cultural clash narrative, marked the UFC’s first-ever all-African title fight.

Adesanya, originally born in Lagos, Nigeria, and later relocating to New Zealand at a young age, had previously accused Du Plessis of undermining the legacy of the “African Kings”. This tension began when “Stillknocks” had boldly claimed he wanted to be the ‘real’ African UFC champion.

The title of “African Kings” was a prestigious moniker bestowed upon Adesanya, alongside Usman and Francis Ngannou, during a time when the trio simultaneously held UFC belts, representing the continent on the global stage.

“The Nigerian Nightmare” provided a nuanced perspective about the heated feud heading into UFC 305 and also his thoughts on where Du Plessis fits into UFC’s African elite.

Usman Includes Du Plessis In UFC’s African Elite

During a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman delved into Du Plessis’ victory over Adesanya at UFC 305. However, the conversation quickly escalated into a lively debate when the former UFC welterweight champion voiced his displeasure over Cejudo’s lighthearted remark – where he dubbed Du Plessis the “Real African King.”

“I understand it was a whole marketing thing for Dricus Du Plessis, which he might not have necessarily meant in the way that Israel might have taken it,” Usman said. “But you have to be careful because it’s dangerous—it’s very, very dangerous. You have to be careful with what you say because now we’re in a position to influence the masses in the world. So, with power—I say it all the time—with great power comes great responsibility. When you have that platform and you have that mic in your hand, you have to be careful with what you say.”

“The Nigerian Nightmare” went on to emphasize that Du Plessis is actually the fourth African champion.

“So to say, ‘Oh, I’m the real African,’ that’s completely crazy. And for you [Cejudo] to say that perpetually, ‘Oh, he’s the real African king,’ I know you’re just joking, but it’s not—this is how division continues to be perpetuated. Dricus Du Plessis is the fourth African champion right now, so there are four horsemen. We’ve moved on from the three kings to where now it’s four horsemen. So to continue to perpetuate this whole ‘Oh, African king’ or this or that, that’s ridiculous.”

Continue Reading Classy Kamaru Usman Reacts To Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Win: ‘We’ve Moved On From Three Kings To Four Horsemen’ at MMA News.

Classy Kamaru Usman Reacts To Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Win: ‘We’ve Moved On From Three Kings To Four Horsemen’

Kamaru Usman recently expressed his views on Dricus Du Plessis’ impressive win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. “Stillknocks” retained his UFC middleweight championship in commanding style last weekend, submitting Adesanya with a fourth-round rear-naked choke in a thrilling contest at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. In a fiercely contested bout where neither fighter […]

Continue Reading Classy Kamaru Usman Reacts To Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Win: ‘We’ve Moved On From Three Kings To Four Horsemen’ at MMA News.

Kamaru Usman recently expressed his views on Dricus Du Plessis’ impressive win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.

“Stillknocks” retained his UFC middleweight championship in commanding style last weekend, submitting Adesanya with a fourth-round rear-naked choke in a thrilling contest at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

In a fiercely contested bout where neither fighter held back, Du Plessis displayed remarkable grit and determination. As the fight entered the championship rounds, the South African unleashed a relentless flurry of punches that left “The Last Stylebender” reeling. Seizing the momentum, the defending champion secured a takedown and swiftly transitioned to lock in a decisive submission.

Despite a rivalry that had flared up and taken an ugly turn on multiple occasions, Du Plessis and Adesanya finally put their animosity to rest after their historic clash. The bout, steeped in a fierce cultural clash narrative, marked the UFC’s first-ever all-African title fight.

Adesanya, originally born in Lagos, Nigeria, and later relocating to New Zealand at a young age, had previously accused Du Plessis of undermining the legacy of the “African Kings”. This tension began when “Stillknocks” had boldly claimed he wanted to be the ‘real’ African UFC champion.

The title of “African Kings” was a prestigious moniker bestowed upon Adesanya, alongside Usman and Francis Ngannou, during a time when the trio simultaneously held UFC belts, representing the continent on the global stage.

“The Nigerian Nightmare” provided a nuanced perspective about the heated feud heading into UFC 305 and also his thoughts on where Du Plessis fits into UFC’s African elite.

Usman Includes Du Plessis In UFC’s African Elite

During a recent episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo, Usman delved into Du Plessis’ victory over Adesanya at UFC 305. However, the conversation quickly escalated into a lively debate when the former UFC welterweight champion voiced his displeasure over Cejudo’s lighthearted remark – where he dubbed Du Plessis the “Real African King.”

“I understand it was a whole marketing thing for Dricus Du Plessis, which he might not have necessarily meant in the way that Israel might have taken it,” Usman said. “But you have to be careful because it’s dangerous—it’s very, very dangerous. You have to be careful with what you say because now we’re in a position to influence the masses in the world. So, with power—I say it all the time—with great power comes great responsibility. When you have that platform and you have that mic in your hand, you have to be careful with what you say.”

“The Nigerian Nightmare” went on to emphasize that Du Plessis is actually the fourth African champion.

“So to say, ‘Oh, I’m the real African,’ that’s completely crazy. And for you [Cejudo] to say that perpetually, ‘Oh, he’s the real African king,’ I know you’re just joking, but it’s not—this is how division continues to be perpetuated. Dricus Du Plessis is the fourth African champion right now, so there are four horsemen. We’ve moved on from the three kings to where now it’s four horsemen. So to continue to perpetuate this whole ‘Oh, African king’ or this or that, that’s ridiculous.”

Continue Reading Classy Kamaru Usman Reacts To Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Win: ‘We’ve Moved On From Three Kings To Four Horsemen’ at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis Kicks Steve Erceg When He’s Down After UFC 305 Loss For Labeling Him A ‘6/10 Fighter’

Dricus Du Plessis has always had his fair share of critics during his UFC run, despite being undefeated inside the Octagon. During his climb up the middleweight ladder, many were critical of his ability to fight at a constant pace over three rounds due to him becoming visibly tired in some of his earlier fights. […]

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis Kicks Steve Erceg When He’s Down After UFC 305 Loss For Labeling Him A ‘6/10 Fighter’ at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis has always had his fair share of critics during his UFC run, despite being undefeated inside the Octagon.

During his climb up the middleweight ladder, many were critical of his ability to fight at a constant pace over three rounds due to him becoming visibly tired in some of his earlier fights.

Even since there has been an improvement from “Stillknocks” in this area, there is often conversation about his unorthodox, and at times reckless-appearing approach which lacks finesse – but has been incredibly effective for him.

This was case and point in the main event of UFC 305 this past weekend where he was able to walk down and catch Israel Adesanya with big looping punches to hurt him and find the submission win in the fourth round.

Unfortunately for those that don’t rate the champion’s technique, he has been keeping receipts.

Dricus Du Plessis Reminds Steve Erceg Of His Criticism After UFC 305

After successfully defending the middleweight title for the first time, Du Plessis made sure to circle back to a few people who had doubted him or talked down on his ability during fight week.

There are clear elements of his game that you wouldn’t necessarily teach a young fighter but the champ knows how to make it work for him.

One of the criticisms that clearly he took notice of was Steve Erceg labelling him as a 6/10 overall fighter due to some of his more unpredictable tendencies.

Erceg was stopped in front of his home fans in Perth this past weekend with Kai Kara-France securing a massive first-round win in the co-main event.

Via his Instagram story, Du Plessis took a moment to remind the former flyweight title challenger of what he had said after they ended up on opposite sides of the win column on August 17.

MMA fans reacted to the champion getting the last word in via social media.

“Dude has all the receipts. He’s coming for everyone.”

“this guy is against the whole world right now”

“Tbf erceg gave himself a 7, it seems like he just has a really high bar”

“If everyone doubted me like how they did I’d come back for everyone too”

Read also: Dricus Du Plessis Embraces Israel Adesanya’s Parents Backstage At UFC 305: ‘You Have An Incredible Son’

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis Kicks Steve Erceg When He’s Down After UFC 305 Loss For Labeling Him A ‘6/10 Fighter’ at MMA News.

Sean O’Malley Talks UFC 305 Main Event, ‘Coin Flip’ Prediction For Du Plessis’ Next Fight

Dricus Du Plessis retained his middleweight title at UFC 305 by submitting former champion Israel Adesanya in a back-and-forth encounter. Though he was able to secure the tap in the fourth round, it was the striking from “Stillknocks” that led to the finish. His unorthodox and sometimes reckless approach to moving through ranges whilst looking […]

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley Talks UFC 305 Main Event, ‘Coin Flip’ Prediction For Du Plessis’ Next Fight at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis retained his middleweight title at UFC 305 by submitting former champion Israel Adesanya in a back-and-forth encounter.

Though he was able to secure the tap in the fourth round, it was the striking from “Stillknocks” that led to the finish.

His unorthodox and sometimes reckless approach to moving through ranges whilst looking to land big punches found a home and hurt “The Last Stylebender” which was the beginning of the end.

On his YouTube channel, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley gave his immediate reaction to the main event where he highlighted Du Plessis’ blitz assault and gave props to both men.

“DDP has some funny a** like blitzes that just looks so sloppy and weird but he connects somehow and they’re heavy f****** punches and Izzy did look good. He looked like he was in good shape, defended that good takedown a few times. Like he said, he made a few small little mistakes. I mean I thought he was winning a decision, close fight. DDP showed why he’s the champ.”

Sean O’Malley Believes Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland 2 Will Be Another Close Fight

In the aftermath of this past weekend’s event in Perth, it appears that the next time Du Plessis will be back inside the Octagon will be for his first rematch in the UFC.

The South African champion won the title by defeating Sean Strickland earlier this year in a split decision, that the American passionately believes he should have gotten.

O’Malley gave his thoughts on that fight having already seen how difficult it was to separate them at UFC 297.

“Sean Strickland is fighting the winner, we already knew that. DDP versus Sean Strickland 2, the first fight was very, very, very close, could have gave it to Sean Strickland. He was the champion at the time and I feel like if you’re going to beat the champ in a split decision, it’s got to be more dominant than that so that was a very, very close fight, that’s going to be a fun one to run back.”

“Suga” went on to say that he believes this particular match-up is won or lost by who performs better on that night due to their styles.

“I think those guys can fight 10 times, it’s a coin flip every time. I don’t think it’s going to be f****** one guy is going to dominate. Those two styles are just going to be whoever shows up better on that night.”

Read also: Dana White Reacts To UFC Fighters Brawling At PFL Event With Jibe At The Rival Promotion

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley Talks UFC 305 Main Event, ‘Coin Flip’ Prediction For Du Plessis’ Next Fight at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis’ Coach Offers Alternative To Alex Pereira’s Middleweight Tease: ‘I Won’t Give Him The Joy…’

The coach of UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis likes the idea of his man facing Alex Pereira, but not as “Poatan” has proposed. Du Plessis maintained his grip on the 185-pound crown at this past weekend’s UFC 305 pay-per-view in Perth, Australia, adding a first successful defense to his resume at the expense of […]

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis’ Coach Offers Alternative To Alex Pereira’s Middleweight Tease: ‘I Won’t Give Him The Joy…’ at MMA News.

The coach of UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis likes the idea of his man facing Alex Pereira, but not as “Poatan” has proposed.

Du Plessis maintained his grip on the 185-pound crown at this past weekend’s UFC 305 pay-per-view in Perth, Australia, adding a first successful defense to his resume at the expense of former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya.

Their entertaining main event and the South African’s feat of becoming the first to submit “The Last Stylebender” remains a hot topic, but talk is also already turning to what could lie next for him.

Judging by Dana White’s recent remarks, that would appear likely to be a rematch with Sean Strickland, the man from whom Du Plessis captured the middleweight gold this past January. But one other notable name recently put his name into the mix.

Reigning light heavyweight and former middleweight kingpin Alex Pereira was on hand with his post-UFC 305 reaction, teasing a returning to the 185-pound division to do battle with “Stillknocks.”

That callout got a positive response from Du Plessis’ coach. Well, sort of…

Du Plessis’ Coach Accepts Pereira Fight — On One Condition

During a backstage interview with Submission Radio at the RAC Arena, Du Plessis’ coach Morne Visser reflected on his man’s triumph Down Under and looked ahead to what could be next.

In terms of Pereira’s social media post, the Team CIT head trainer green lit a clash between Du Plessis and “Poatan,” but only if it sees the South African receive an opportunity at achieving two-weight glory.

“No, I won’t give him (Pereira) the joy to go down to 185; we’ll just go up,” Visser said. “He (Du Plessis) doesn’t want to beat him (at middleweight because) he’ll say that (they’ve) gone down, he was fatigued, and whatever. So no, we’ll go up.

“I’m sure that the UFC will be okay with it, if that’s what he’s said, (and) I know Dricus is game. So we’ll go up, we won’t wait for him to come down,” Visser continued. “He’s fighting in October, so I really hope that the UFC gives us this blessing for December.”

For now, Pereira will be preparing for his surprise return at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City this fall, with the Brazilian set to put his light heavyweight belt on the line against Khalil Rountree on October 5.

What would come after a potential victory over “The War Horse” remains to be seen, but it seems that a possible middleweight return now sits alongside frequent heavyweight teases for “Poatan.”

Continue Reading Dricus Du Plessis’ Coach Offers Alternative To Alex Pereira’s Middleweight Tease: ‘I Won’t Give Him The Joy…’ at MMA News.

Dricus Du Plessis Tells Alex Pereira to Stay at 205, Aiming for Two-Division Gold

Dricus Du Plessis Alex PereiraDricus Du Plessis successfully defended his middleweight title at UFC 305 and was called out by the UFC’s light…

Dricus Du Plessis Alex Pereira

Dricus Du Plessis successfully defended his middleweight title at UFC 305 and was called out by the UFC’s light heavyweight champion just moments later.

The war between Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya was very competitive. Du Plessis struggled to take down ‘The Last Stylebender’ and even took some brutal shots in round three. However, ultimately, the tides of war would change, and Du Plessis wobbled Adesanya in round four on his way to a submission victory.

After the fight, Alex Pereira posted a picture of himself sitting next to his TV that showed a victorious DDP raising his arms, with the middleweight title wrapped around his waist. “Coming down to 185 one more time,” read Pereira’s caption.

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Alex Pereira’s callout of Dricus Du Plessis on Instagram

Dricus Du Plessis scoffs at Alex Pereira’s callout

“I honestly don’t think Alex Pereira should drop down to 185,” Du Plessis said at the UFC 305 post-fight press conference (H/T MMA Fighting). “If he wants to, great, perfect. But then we’re going to hear the excuses. I saw Izzy stiff that man in the first round. I felt Izzy’s punching power tonight. Izzy has great timing, he’s fast, he’s long and he has great combinations, but I felt the power.

“If Izzy stiffens you like that, you do not want to be in there with me, especially not when you’ve got to come in there with the excuses, ‘Oh, I cut too much weight.’ That’s going to happen. Everybody’s going to say it.”

“Stay at 205, fight your fight against the No. 8 ranked guy,” Dricus Du Plessis said, speaking on Pereira’s upcoming fight against Rountree. “Fight your fight there and enjoy it. If Strickland is the next fight, the people want to see that fight — if that’s the fight that people want to see and that’s the fight right now people think is the next best guy, then it’s the fight that I want. So let me handle my business, you handle your business.”