Pretoria’s MMA superstar makes headlines after his first UFC fight

Pretoria’s Mix Martial Arts (MMA) superstar Dricus du Plessis had a dream debut this weekend in his first fight under the banner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the most prestigious organisation under which athletes of this sport can fight.

Pretoria Rekord reported last week that Du Plessis would get his big chance at the UFC, after not having his equal in his weight division at the local Extreme Fighting Championships (EFC) for a long time. He was the EFC middleweight champion.

Du Plessis faced off in his first EFC fight this weekend in Abu Dhabi against the experienced MMA fighter, Markus Perez of Brazil.

Although Du Plessis has a background across a range of combat sport (boxing, wrestling and judo) and is known as an accomplished all-rounder, is it also known that he rather specializes in the ground game, while he is a master of submission.

However, on Saturday he surprised friend and foe by sending Perez crashing to the canvas with a neat combination of blows to the head after just three minutes in the first round. With Perez on the canvas, Du Plessis quickly followed up and after another combination of strikes, the referee stopped the fight.

Perez, an experienced UFC fighter who has never been knocked out before in his career, was properly brought back to earth, after trying to intimidate Du Plessis during the weigh-in session before the fight by showing up with a face painted like a clown.

During a media interview following this victory, Du Plessis also caused further uproar with his surprising social commentary on conditions in South Africa. He took the opportunity to bring the seriousness of farm murders in South Africa to the attention of the world.

"I came in here and finished a guy that's never been finished, and it feels absolutely amazing."@DricusDuPlessis talks about getting his first UFC win and what it means to him to represent South Africa.#UFCFightIsland5 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/UdiO6fIJpe

— UFC News (@UFCNews) October 11, 2020