Dricus du Plessis won the largest win of his professional career and made quite a statement at UFC 282..
A strong start, which saw Du Plessis almost finish the fight in round one led to an intense third round. Till finally managed to land a timely takedown and land in the mount directly. From there, Till was forced to roll over to avoid damage and Du Plessis seized the opening to apply a neck crank/rear naked choke that earned him the tap just a split second later.
The official stoppage came at 2:43 in the third round as Du Plessis got the job done.
” The gas tank cannot ever be empty” Du Plessis stated after an exhausting battle. “It can go a little bit low but it never goes empty. It comes down to the dog who is toughest. Bring on that last round, we are always going to win it.
“I just beat freaking Darren Till, how awesome is that? Hello top 10!”
Du Plessis snatched a quick takedown from Till to show that he was more than just a striker. Du Plessis was pounding away at Till’s feet with punches, while Till tried to defend and move back to his feet.
Another takedown followed with Du Plessis getting the back to begin working for a rear-naked choke while also hammering with punches. Till managed to escape despite his dominant position. He was looking for a choke, then some slick foot combinations as he tried to equalize the odds following a very uneven start.
Du Plessis was dominant throughout the opening round but looked as though he was struggling for breath. Till was able to control the pace and keep the fight moving along. Till gave Du Plessis a few straight punches, which snapped his head back. The fight was now moving in the right direction.
Till was measured as he rattled off a number of left-right combinations that kept Du Plessis on the end of his punches.
With five minutes remaining, Du Plessis was showing more urgency as he began sticking a jab in Till’s face, which backed off the Liverpool native. Du Plessis was able to take down Till and then move into the mount. He applied the submission which helped him win the fight.
On his way out of the cage, UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik noted that Till said he believed he tore his ACL during the fight, which would be a terrible injury for the one-time UFC title challenger. A typical recovery period for ACL injuries in the knee takes one to two years.
Du Plessis continues to win with another great performance as he looks to move up in the UFC’s Middleweight Division.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/10/23503637/ufc-282-results-dricus-du-plessis-batters-darren-till-early-finishes-rear-naked-choke-in-third-round?rand=96749
