Scouting Report: Dricus du Plessis

Dricus Du Plessis

Born: January 14, 1994 (Age: 29) in Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa
Division: Middleweight
Height: 6’0”
Reach: 76”
Record: 19-2
Association: Team CIT
Stage of Career: Prime or Still Improving

Summary: On paper, it makes sense why fans and other fighters alike don't give du Plessis much chance against Robert Whittaker. Against such a superlative opponent, Plessis isn't remotely in the same league. His striking is severely limited by his hand speed and most of his punches being telegraphed. Most struggle to land against anyone. His only weapons are the left uppercut and right cross, which are accurate, technical, and powerful, though they too are slow and telegraphed. Thus, he needs an opponent to be inattentive or tired for those strikes to land. His kicks aren't just slow and telegraphed, but weak and technically flawed. His grappling is better, but not nearly effective enough at this level. He can get takedowns from the clinch, but his top control is limited, and while his ground-and-pound and submissions are decent, they're not significant weapons against the caliber of opponents he will be facing, let alone Whittaker. Du Plessis can also be taken down himself and can't get back up immediately, though it will likely take an excellent grappler to defeat him in that area. Du Plessis also has mediocre cardio, with a faster pace causing him to be winded by the end of the first round and badly gassed by the end of the second, even if he pushes through. Du Plessis is very tough, has an iron chin, and is strong and effective with his striking in the clinch, both knees and elbows, but this just doesn't appear to be enough against an actual top contender who is neither washed-up nor severely flawed.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Slow, significantly below average.
• Jab: Poor, which is why he wisely rarely uses it. It's slow and telegraphed and almost always misses by a wide margin.
• Cross: Likely his best punch. While slow, it is less telegraphed than his other punches, and also straight and fairly accurate. Most important of all, when he lands it is genuinely powerful, putting Trevin Giles out cold and repeatedly hurting Derek Brunson.
• Left Hook: Mediocre; technically solid and likely has some power, but he often lunges or reaches horribly with it and it is very telegraphed, especially by itself, and slow.
• Overhand Right: Borderline poor; similar properties to the left hook, but being wider and incredibly, even more telegraphed.
• Uppercuts: Decent; left uppercut is telegraphed and slow, but technical and powerful, putting Markus Perez out with a few connects, for what it's worth.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Despite how slow his punches are, throws a lot of two-punch combinations.
• Favorite Combination(s): Likes the overhand right into left hook combo, with the shots being technically solid and having some power, but also telegraphed and slow. The 1-2 is better since at least the right cross is heavy and accurate, and the punches are harmonious enough, though there is nothing to fear from the initial jab.
• Leg Kicks: Borderline poor; weak and off-balance leg kicks, from which he struggles to quickly regain his stance. Part of the problem is that he leans very far back when throwing the kick.
• Body Kicks: Borderline poor; rather slow body kick from which he struggles to regain his stance, and is a little lacking in power. Even had it caught and was almost taken down from it by Brunson.
• Head Kicks: Mediocre; slow and telegraphed though it has some heft to it. Easy to block.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: No.

Dricus Du Plessis' striking suffers greatly from his hands being downright slow and most of his punches being telegraphed to boot. He has almost no jab to speak of and is very rarely able to land either hook or an overhand right. However, while also slow and telegraphed, he has a straight, accurate, and downright powerful right cross that has caught inattentive or tired opponents, and he has a dangerous left uppercut that opponents run into. Unfortunately, his kicks are severely flawed. Not only are they often slow or telegraphed, but they're also weak and improperly thrown, with bad balance. Defensively, du Plessis isn't bad, covering up well with his arms and blocking with his hands. Overall, though, he is a very limited striker.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Great; an immensely strong fighter who relies on that strength a lot.
• Technique: Decent. Too deliberate and slow with his movements, but they're all technically proficient.
• Knees: Good. A solid knee to the midsection.
• Elbows: Very good, a technical, accurate elbow he throws to the side of the head.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Decent. Can definitely be hit by both from close range.

Dricus Du Plessis is a tremendously strong fighter and that is felt in the clinch. He also has very effective striking there, with a nice knee to the gut and an even better elbow to the side of the head.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Mediocre. Double-leg shot is slow and fails to secure the hips well. Couldn't even take Giles down off a flying knee with it.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Pretty good. Persistent, and can complete both single and double-legs against the cage, though he relies mostly on his strength.
• Takedown Defense: Good. Can be off-balance after his kicks and lose out on scrambles, but very strong and stuffs weaker attempts very easily.
• Ability to Return to Feet: OK. Takes a while to get up due to his lack of agility and athleticism, but using his immense strength, builds a base and eventually stands up if given enough space.
• Submissions: Decent. Far less effective at his current level, but locked in a rear-naked choke against a tired Till and has a nice kimura lock he used to take Giles down from a standing position.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Okay. Limits ground-and-pound by controlling the biceps and moves his head, though he poses no submission threat off his back.
• Top Control: Limited. A strong guy who tries to use pressure, but he is too slow and lumbering, especially in responding to opponent movement, allowing quicker, more agile opponents to easily hip-escape or scramble back up, whether that was Giles or Brunson.
• Ground-and-Pound: Average. Has some solid, heavy right hands, but they're slow and telegraphed here too, and he doesn't use the left at all. Also uses some old-school forearms that are possible to block or avoid.
Dricus Du Plessis' grappling is solid, though not a major weapon. His shot is easy to defend, but he is capable of getting takedowns from the clinch. He is strong and exerts heavy pressure, but is slow on the top, especially in responding to opponent movements, frequently allowing them to get back up. He has some submissions, but they're unlikely to work against opponents at his current level with solid jiu-jitsu. His ground-and-pound is limited to a slow if clubbing right hand and old-school forearms, which shouldn't do much damage if the opponent is fresh. Defensively, he is often off-balance from his kicks and can be taken down from them, though his takedown defense is otherwise very sturdy. Off his back, generally limits ground-and-pound but takes a while to get up, relying on his strength to build a powerful base and simply push up when given enough space. It will likely take an excellent grappler to exploit du Plessis' weaknesses in the grappling.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: A mixed bag because he has superb physical strength but his athleticism is well below average for a fighter at his level.
• Cardio: Mediocre. Is OK fighting at a slow pace, but past that, is moderately winded by the end of Round 1 and downright gassed near the end of Round 2, though he still pushes himself to keep fighting.
• Chin: Very tough, made of iron. Nailed flush by Brunson's deadly overhand left and while noticeably hurt, wasn't knocked down, let alone out.
• Recuperative Powers: Good. Was wobbly for a while from being hit by Brunson's overhand left but was out of serious danger after the first few seconds.
• Intelligence: Good. An alert, focused fighter who has to rely on the right opportunities to land his slow punches, catching opponents when they're distracted, which he has often managed to do. Has shown little improvement from one UFC fight to another, though.