Dricus Du Plessis may soon get the opportunity to headline a UFC event after his convincing win over Darren Till. However, Du Plessis still had questions about his long-term future.
As soon as the fight started at UFC 282, Du Plessis came forward with a ferocious attack to put the pressure on Till with a big takedown followed by a barrage of punches against the cage. The referee actually warned Till several times that the fight was going to be stopped if he didn’t improve his position.
Ultimately, Till survived and made a strong comeback in the second round as Du Plessis looked winded after exerting so much effort through the first five minutes. Looking back at the fight, Du Plessis admits he’s not exactly sure what went wrong, but he knows it wasn’t a depleted gas tank from exerting too much effort going for the finish.
“After my first round flurry, I was not tired,” Du Plessis said on The MMA Hour. “Like my arms weren’t [tired] at all, I have no idea what happened. My strength coach said that it seemed more mechanical than any other explanation.
“I didn’t gas out in terms of my breath was there, I didn’t feel exhausted. My legs in the second round, I felt like my legs were swollen. Like I had ran a marathon. I just didn’t have any power in my legs.”
Du Plessis’ movement was much slower than the first round. This allowed Till to correct his course and present a better effort.
Fortunately, there were no serious injuries for the South African middleweight. But he was still baffled at the way he was almost unable to move throughout the first few minutes of the second round.
” My arms and gas were perfect,” Du Plessis stated. “I was perfect, but I almost felt like I couldn’t bounce. They didn’t feel springy in my legs. That’s why it felt like I was just stuck in there. Halfway through the second round my legs felt a lot more comfortable .”
There was a grappling exchange where Du Plessis locked a body triangle on Till that could explain at least some of the exhaustion he felt in his legs, although he’s still not certain that’s why he struggled to keep pace in the second round.
Du Plessis conceded that he did forgo some typical pre-fight warmups on his legs — including some treatment that usually happens just after he hits the scale at the weigh-ins — but even that doesn’t necessarily explain why his movement slowed so much after a fast start.
“What happens usually after a weight cut, I get my legs loosened up with a foam roller, the Hyperice gun, I get a physio to loosen up the legs but this time we didn’t do that,” Du Plessis said. “I didn’t loosen up my muscles after the weight cut and I think that might have played a role in my legs jamming up in the fight.
” It was strange. We went back to look and there was nothing. I did not do any heavy lifting. He didn’t get picked up, or something like that. It was an extremely strange situation .”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/24/23507460/dricus-du-plessis-baffled-by-slow-start-in-second-round-against-darren-till-i-wasnt-tired-at-all?rand=96749
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