It’s been a while since Dricus du Plessis fought a wrestler.
The UFC Middleweight Champion faces one of the most feared grapplers in recent memory, the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 this weekend.
A few sleeps away from what Dana White called the ‘fight of the year’, the unorthodox du Plessis was asked at media day how much he has changed as a fighter from his 2023 bout with perennial contender and top wrestler Derek Brunson at UFC 285.
Du Plessis struggled against Brunson in his final fight with a breathing handicap, having to overcome a tough first round before he ultimately TKO’ed the more fatigued wrestler in the closing seconds of round 2.
“It can’t go worse than him throwing in the towel,” du Plessis said of his past fight with Brunson.
Brunson says he caught a stray from the UFC champion in his response.
- READ MORE: Dana White breaks up fiery Dricus Du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev face-off at UFC 319 press conference
Derek Brunson says he fought Dricus du Plessis through COVID-19
Brunson addressed du Plessis’ comments on Thursday, saying he fought the South African despite having a case of COVID-19 previously.
“*ducking * cause I’m catching strays,” Brunson wrote on X.
“I had covid and still fought.
“I fired my corner for doing that shiii lol.
“First round was prob a 10-8,” Brunson said of the scoring for his fight with du Plessis.
“Good scrap and good luck Dricus !” Brunson added.
Brunson cleared up that he didn’t fire his corner in a follow-up post.
“I didn’t fire my corner, I was jk. They were just looking out for me. Dricus caught me lacking.
“If you beat me, you gotta be goatish or an elite fighter. No shame in losing to the reigning champ and a Top 10 pfp fighter. Looking forward to the fight!
How good is Dricus du Plessis’ takedown defense?
A big question on everybody’s mind is how du Plessis will hold off the grappling attacks of Chimaev.
Du Plessis isn’t known for his takedown defense, as his takedown defense rate at 50% across nine UFC fights.
Du Plessis has been taken down by Derek Brunson, Robert Whittaker, and Darren Till, with Brunson finding success in the opening round against ‘Stillknocks’.
One of the main keys to victory for Chimaev is to get the takedown early against du Plessis. A longer fight seems to favor du Plessis as he’s been in the championship rounds before, unlike the challenger.