Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) forwards Darren Till and Dricus du Plessis will go to war this weekend (Saturday, December 10, 2022) at UFC 282 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada .
It’s no secret that times have been tough for Till. The English talent was hoping a middleweight move would revive his career, but he lost two of three at 185lbs, looking out of shape and flat in his last outing against Derek Brunson. He now desperately needs a win or his title dreams will completely explode. Du Plessis, meanwhile, is chaos. The former KSW champion stormed the gates to win three straight UFC fights, proving his combination of physicality, aggression and unorthodox attack is an unpleasant threat, even at the highest level. . He’s great fun to watch, and now we’ll find out if “Stillknocks” is a real player in the title picture.
Let’s take a closer look at the keys to victory for each man:
Darren up
Registration: 18-4-1
Main wins: Kelvin Gastelum (UFC 244), Stephen Thompson (UFC Fight Night 130), Donald Cerrone (UFC Fight Night 118), Bojan Velickovic (UFC Fight Night 115)
Key losses: Derek Brunson (UFC Vegas 36), Tyron Woodley (UFC 228), Robert Whittaker (UFC on ESPN 14), Jorge Masvidal (UFC Fight Night 147)
Keys to Victory: Recently there has been a shift against Till, a feeling that he was never good and was just a hot job. Even with his recent fights, it’s important to remember that mediocre forwards don’t face off in extremely thin competition with the likes of Robert Whittaker and Stephen Thompson.
“The Gorilla” is a talent, even if he has not yet reached his potential.
There are opportunities and dangers in this game. Till is a sniper and du Plessis is extremely aggressive. There will surely be opportunities for Till to interrupt du Plessis’ outbursts with his vaunted left hand, but that’s a dicey proposition. If Till misses or his timing is a bit off, du Plessis will continue to swarm, shift positions and land deathblows.
Till is by no means untouchable, and Masvidal has demonstrated how sneaky changes can catch him off guard. To avoid blowing myself up looking for his counters, I’d like to see more footwork from Till. If he is particularly patient and frustrating, du Plessis’ pathological aggression will lead to bigger and safer openings as du Plessis tries to force a fight.
Dric du Plessis
Registration: 17-2
Main wins: Roberto Soldic (KSW 43), Brad Tavares (UFC 276), Trevin Giles (UFC 264), Markus Perez (UFC Fight Island 5)
Key losses: Roberto Soldic (KSW 45)
Keys to Victory: I really like the style of du Plessis. He’s got durability, power, a deep gas tank, creativity – all the elements needed to attack wildly in a philosophical approach similar to someone like Jiri Prochazka. Of course, du Plessis leaves openings when attacking, but does it matter if he can shoot and his opponent cannot resist his onslaught?
Sometimes offense truly is the best defense, especially in MMA, where dots on the board equate to physical pain and a dulling of the senses. Obviously, du Plessis doesn’t want to get excited in the process of working his offense, but just because Till throws straighter shots doesn’t mean he’s the better striker.
To make the most of these exchanges, du Plessis must remain unpredictable. He has to constantly feint to dull the timing of Till’s counter punches. Position changes are also great, but du Plessis would be better advised to gain an angle or force Till to break his position. before really unleashing his combinations.
Conclusion
Darren Till has his back to the wall.
Till is a popular fighter, but the popularity doesn’t go that far. It’s been a long time since “The Gorilla” won a fight, and longer since he really impressed in the process. None of this is to say that Till is no good, but if he is to remain a highly ranked middleweight generally seen as a player in the title picture, he simply needs to turn away from du Plessis. Otherwise, it’s a long, long way to the top.
As for du Plessis, he’s still not a household name among the average UFC fan. It’s a chance to break into the rankings and the public consciousness in a single victory. Defeating Till always means something, and given his previous winning streak, this weekend’s victory should prove that du Plessis is a threat even to the elite at 185 pounds.
At UFC 282, Darren Till and Dricus du Plessis will square off. Which man will be victorious?
remember that MMAmania.com will provide live, round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 282 fight card right herestarting from the beginning ESPN+ Online “Preliminaries” matches, which are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET, then the rest of the undercard (on ESPN2 /ESPN+) at 8:00 p.m. ET, prior to the PPV main card start time at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ VPP.
For the latest and greatest news and notes from UFC 282: ‘Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev’, be sure to check out our full event archive to the right here.
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