Dricus du Plessis got on Israel Adesanya’s radar by drilling one of his former foes to the canvas.
At this rate, UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis is on his way to becoming an all-time great, finishing the likes of former champs Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya and winning 8 rounds out of 10 against Sean Strickland.
On the road to gold is where du Plessis faced one of his greatest challenges, nearly losing his spotless UFC record to 3X Division II All-American wrestler and perennial contender Derek Brunson.
The middleweights were matched up at UFC 285, the same night Jon Jones won the heavyweight title in March 2023. Du Plessis had submitted Darren Till months prior, earning a shot at his first top-5 contender in Brunson.
Brunson had seen just about it all before the unorthodox South African, fighting Adesanya and Whittaker himself and other elite middleweights.
This version of Brunson, ‘Blonde Brunson’, had won 5 out of his last 6 fights, derailing quite a few promising prospects in his heyday like 2020 hotshot Kevin Holland and the undefeated Edmen Shahbazyan.
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Derek Brunson gave Dricus du Plessis serious problems
40 seconds into round 1, Brunson caught one of du Plessis’ kicks and took him down with relative ease.
Brunson controlled du Plessis for more than a minute, jumping guillotine once du Plessis got back up. The middleweights grappled some more, attempting heel hooks and foot locks on the ground.
Brunson grabbed ahold of du Plessis’ back in slick transitions. Once his opponent got up, Brunson landed big blows on their break, swarming du Plessis with strikes. DDP dropped for a takedown, one that backfired on him as Brunson fell right into top control.
Brunson looked for a rear-naked choke at the end of the round but du Plessis would survive, standing up to his feet and landed a clean elbow and backfist, smiling confidently as he walked to his corner.
Dricus du Plessis overcame cardio handicap for the last time
Du Plessis took big deep breaths in between rounds.
Up until his fight with Robert Whittaker, the South African previously fought all of his career with a deviated septum, a breathing impairment that left him with 8% oxygen intake through his nostrils
Joe Rogan mentioned du Plessis had planned to get nose surgery to get that fixed before fighting Brunson, however the ranked contender was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Brunson tested du Plessis’ cardio with a multitude of teep kicks to the body. Brunson found a home for his punches, landing lefts and rights.
Minutes into the second round, Brunson would start to fade as he ate shots from du Plessis.
Du Plessis continued to touch up Brunson in the striking, beating up his legs with kicks, making him desperate for a takedown. Du Plessis landed a thudding shot to the body of Brunson.
The fight turned into a bit of barroom brawl with both men landing later in the round.
After more deep breaths from du Plessis, he rocked Brunson with punches, sending him falling down to the canvas.
Du Plessis landed elbows and more ground and pound with seconds left to go. Just as it looked like Brunson was going to be saved by the bell, du Plessis landed a hammer fist and followed it up with a massive right hand, nailing Brunson’s head to the mat right before the bell.
Brunson down and out, his corner threw in the towel to put a stop to the contest.
A new middleweight contender had emerged and his name was Dricus du Plessis. With this performance, he heard rumblings of title contention against then-champ Israel Adesanya but du Plessis wouldn’t meet him until later in his career.
Du Plessis dispatched of Robert Whittaker in his next fight after Brunson, his nose all fixed up by then.
