Dricus du Plessis vs Kamaru Usman Preview
This is such a fun matchup.
Dricus has only lost to Chimaev, whom also beat Usman and I feel like people are counting out this fight with the sentiment that it will be boring. I do not agree.
The case for Dricus du Plessis: A man that has beaten the likes of; Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland the CURRENT champion twice, and a multitude of others, is being doubted against a great fighter in Usman, but someone that is moving up in weight classes.
DDP has proven time and again that his albeit his style awkward, that he is very efficient in his fights. The only fight that he wasn’t was when Chimaev held him in a dominant position and even then, DDP did not seem to be in much trouble. DDP is a former champion with multiple defenses and no one has really cracked the code until Chimaev and even then DDP had ways to squeak out a win with multiple submission attempts and late heroics.
There is room to believe that he will come in bigger and of course naturally heavier since that is his normal weight class. DDP can use this to his advantage with making the fight dirty and really establishing the clinch that gave Usman problems with Edwards. DDP is in a perfect bounce-back opportunity to give another run for the title against a man he has already beaten twice now.
The case for Kamaru Usman: Everyone seems to have forgotten how dominant Usman has been over his career. With only 3 losses in the UFC to; Leon Edwards (twice) and once after a full 4.5 rounds of dominating him, and Chimaev that he took on short notice. Usman has shown in his most recent fight with Buckley that he still has the tools that made him such a dominant champion and that is his world-class wrestling.
If we look at how Chimaev dominated DDP, it was all with wrestling. The difference is that Usman will be going up from his normal weight class to fight at middleweight and that has some people feeling nervy. May I remind that Islam Makhachev did this and looked absolutely untouchable against JDM? I get it, different fighters and comparing to one of the P4P greats right now, but the sentiment is still the same - Usman has more than just a lingering chance to dominate DDP on the ground and let that open up his striking.
It is not crazy to say that Usman has a more polished game than DDP and his technique is more refined, and that is where Usman can show levels. With perfectly timed shots and a clean striking performance, Usman can solidify himself for one of the top contenders to fight Sean Strickland next.
Something’s gotta give: While there are advantages and disadvantages to both fighters, this is still such a fun fight. It would be nice to see a longer fight out of these two showcasing all aspects of their game. Who do you think takes this one home and puts themself in the position to challenge for the title next?
