Earlier than turning into a UFC champion, Dricus Du Plessis taught himself combined martial arts by means of outdated problems with Fighters Solely journal.
On Saturday, February 8, ‘Stillknocks’ will return to the Octagon set to defend his middleweight title for the second time when he meets the person he took the gold from slightly greater than a 12 months in the past, Sean Strickland. The 2 will headline UFC 312 when the promotion heads again to Sydney, Australia for its second pay-per-view occasion of 2025.
Du Plessis goes into his first combat of the 12 months boasting an ideal 8-0 report underneath the UFC banner, together with wins over Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya, and naturally, Sean Strickland. The primary time round, ‘DDP’ defeated Strickland by way of a considerably controversial cut up determination to say his first UFC title. This time, he’ll need to fend off ‘Tarzan’ who heads to The Land Down Beneath hellbent on reclaiming the crown he misplaced at UFC 297.
Du Plessis used his brothers to coach MMA strikes he present in magazines
However lengthy earlier than he’d made a reputation for himself on MMA’s largest stage, Du Plessis was only a younger aspiring fighter utilizing his brothers to coach strikes he’d seen in magazines.
“I used to be from a small city. No one knew MMA, proper? I went in, and the combat began,” Du Plessis informed talkSPORT. “Clearly, being a kickboxer, the very first thing I did—I had seen these strategies in Fighters Solely journal, they all the time had these items—so I’d prepare them with my brother.
“I’d ask him to assist me. He was older, and each of them have been Judo champions, in order that they understood what was occurring. , the web and YouTube weren’t like they’re now. Social media wasn’t a factor, in order that wasn’t a chance.”
With a 22-2 general report and a 91% end fee, clearly learning these magazines paid off.
Will ‘Stillknocks’ hold the prepare working and go two-up on Sean Strickland contained in the Qudos Financial institution Area this weekend, or will ‘Tarzan’ even the sequence and hand ‘DDP’ the primary lack of his UFC run?
