One of the most popular fan narratives for Dricus Du Plessis finding so much success in the UFC is that he does everything wrong but succeeds anyway.
‘Stillknock’s’ striking style is a mix of freestyle, karate blitz, and contemporary MMA, but it isn’t pretty. Du Plessis’ UFC 312 opponent, Sean Strickland, remarked that his striking is ‘lightyears’ ahead of Du Plessis, and Strickland’s style consists of a sharp jab, long teeps, and a Philly shell, which doesn’t say much.
Despite this, Du Plessis is constantly underestimated, and a lesser-known fact about the South African champion is his long stint in amateur kickboxing, where he won the 2012 WAKO Junior World Championships at 86kg and had a 33-0 amateur career.
Dricus Du Plessis left kickboxing as a 33-0 amateur to chase MMA
Du Plessis trained as a kickboxer before pursuing MMA for monetary reasons. Some highlights are on his old YouTube channel, including a 15-second knockout he secured in 2012.
Du Plessis knocks his adversary down with a lead leg high kick — something he used to great effect against Israel Adesanya — before circling his downed opponent and sparking them with a left hook to secure the finish.
Dricus Du Plessis adds to his MMA accolades at UFC 312
Du Plessis hails from KSW, Europe’s premier mixed martial arts organization. He became the KSW welterweight champion when he dethroned Roberto Soldic at KSW 43 in 2018. Soldic stopped Du Plessis in the rematch, knocking him out in round three; it remains ‘DDP’s’ last professional defeat.
Soldic continued his winning ways in KSW before moving to ONE Championship. UFC missing out on ‘Robocop’ was considered one of the biggest fumbles in recent years, but Soldic fought twice in ONE, going 0-1 (1NC); he’s scheduled to return at ONE 171 on February 20.