Dricus Du Plessis Pinpoints Catalyst For Upset Victory Over Robert Whittaker At UFC 290
UFC middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis was undoubtedly one of the biggest winners at this past weekend’s pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
Du Plessis, a former EFC and KSW champion, was appearing at the International Fight Week event for the third year in a row. Having previously defeated Trevin Giles and Brad Tavares, “Stillknocks” added the best IFW scalp to his record yet.
On the UFC 290 main card, the South African became only the second fighter to defeat former champion Robert Whittaker at 185 pounds, joining reigning kingpin Israel Adesanya in that regard
“Stillknocks” made good on his pre-fight confidence inside T-Mobile Arena by knocking “The Reaper” out in round two, marking one of the year’s most memorable upsets to date.
In the aftermath, fans and pundits have been assessing what went into Du Plessis’ TKO of Whittaker, a result that not many saw as a possibility ahead of time.
Du Plessis Credits Coach For Formulating ‘Complete New Style’
During his post-fight press conference on Saturday night, Du Plessis discussed his preparation for sharing the Octagon with Whittaker and highlighted the major alteration he made to his style.
The South African praised Team CIT MMA coach Morne Visser for formulating a ‘perfect’ gameplan, which saw Du Plessis battle Whittaker from a southpaw stance.
“I said it, I can’t go and fight Robert Whittaker like I fought a Brad Tavares. He is too good and too calculated,” Du Plessis said. “I needed to figure out his timing, and I think the gameplan — my coach Morne Visser, he is obviously a guru at this. He is the man who put this all together; coming out and fighting southpaw against a guy like Whittaker. I always do switch stance, but to go and learn a complete new style for this guy, and it just worked perfectly.”
Thanks to Visser’s strategy and Du Plessis’ successful employment of it inside the cage on July 8, the South African now finds himself in line to challenge for gold on MMA’s biggest stage for the first time.
And although “Stillknocks” has been widely doubted throughout his UFC career to date, it’s safe to say that he’s proved his detractors wrong so far — a feat he’ll hope to repeat against Adesanya.
Delete those comments, @DricusduPlessis has been watching 👀😂 #UFC290 pic.twitter.com/IpF4olqaRl
— UFC (@ufc) July 9, 2023
Read Also: 8 Positives & 3 Negatives From UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair RodrÃguez
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
_1695676452.jpg)