Dricus Du Plessis targets statement comeback against Kamaru Usman
The former middleweight champion insists he has evolved into a complete fighter as he prepares to face one of the UFC’s greatest wrestlers.
Dricus Du Plessis will make his Octagon comeback next month against Kamaru Usman. After the South African lost his fight against Khamzat Chimaev very decisively last year, he went into hiding for a while. Because of that loss, many wondered whether Kamaru Usman was even the right opponent for him, given that Kamaru Usman is a very strong wrestler, and wrestling was precisely where he had a major weakness. However, he says he has been training specifically to address those weaknesses and now wants to prove that he can hold his own against good wrestlers.
“I wanna go out there and prove what I’ve done, like I said, go out and figure this out and go show the problem that the middleweights have on their hands now. Because now I am more complete, and I was a complete fighter. But now I am complete in all areas, and I can’t wait to go and show that.”
he says.
The loss to Khamzat Chimaev and the long break that followed seem to have caused many to forget just how dominant Dricus Du Plessis had been in several fights prior to that. He had an 11-fight winning streak and went into almost every fight as the favorite, and that’s exactly what he needs to prove to everyone again on July 18.
His opponent, Kamaru Usman, however, still seems to have a great deal of respect for Dricus Du Plessis.
“Now I know you didn’t wanna sign the contract, I know that for a fact. When I spoke to UFC, they said, ‘We’ve finally convinced him to sign.’ If you need convincing to sign, that’s a problem. But I can’t blame him. I would also not wanna fight me right now. It would be the smart move not to sign this fight, but you know, let’s go.”
said Dricus Du Plessis. If this statement is really true, then the question naturally arises as to why Kamaru Usman had to be persuaded to take this fight. Is it really because he’s afraid or has respect for his opponent, or is there another reason?
We probably won’t get a real answer to this question until fight day. It remains to be seen how things will ultimately turn out for him.
I'm really looking forward to this fight. It seems like Dricus Du Plessis has been brimming with confidence, which is a very good sign. I hope he can bring that mindset into the fight, because then it could be an incredible comeback.