Dricus beats Usman on points: ‘Let’s get my belt back’

A patient Dricus du Plessis began his road back to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title contention on Sunday with a dominant display against Nigeria’s Kamaru Usman.

The former UFC middleweight champion put on a striking masterclass at UFC Fight Night Oklahoma City as he defeated the former welterweight champion via a unanimous points decision.

DDP won all five rounds on the judge’s scorecards (50-45, 49-46, 49-46) as he put his name firmly back into the hat for a championship fight.

His physicality and power was too much for Usman, as Du Plessis wobbled him multiple times in the first two rounds with clubbing strikes and well-timed knees up the middle.

Du Plessis was quick to praise Usman after the fight.

“If you are a wrestling dominant fighter, and you fight in a main event like that, this is a man I will respect for the rest of my life,” Du Plessis said in his Octagon interview after the fight.

“That man came to give each and every one of you who paid your hard-earned money a proper fight. Not a fight where guys lie on each other for 25 minutes to get some dumbass decision win.”

A massive difference in the fighting style of DDP was prominent as he showed great composure and patience in picking the Nigerian apart.

“I told you when I make this comeback, Stillknocks 2.0 will be the best version you have ever seen. That is what you call composure, I didn’t go crazy when I caught him.”

“We can always get the knockout. You need to train your mind to be composed.”

After losing the belt just under a year ago in a forgettable performance against Khamzat Chimaev, this was a much-needed return to form and there are plenty of options available for Du Plessis going forward, including a potential trilogy bout with current champ Sean Strickland, whom he’s beaten twice before.

“I’m back in the winner’s circle baby. Let’s get my belt back!” he said.