Du Plessis unfazed by Strickland before UFC title defence
But, ahead of his meeting with Strickland at the Qudos Bank Arena, Du Plessis confirmed that the tension between himself and the American is genuine."I'm not somebody that is going to make up fake beef to try and sell a fight," he said."If you treat me with respect, I will treat you with respect. Sean Strickland sells fights through the way he speaks."But if you're going to try and bully me on a mic, I will make sure you know what it feels like to be bullied."Strickland has angered Australian media with a series of inflammatory comments before the fight.However, Du Plessis, who is from Welkom in Free State, has respect for his opponent."It's not that I have any hate towards him. Emotions are high. There's no place to be friendly right now," he continued."We are competitors."We can be respectful if he wants to be and if not, I can also be disrespectful. I have respect for Strickland but he is not my friend."
Du Plessis needs to be 'perfect' on fight night
In their first meeting in Toronto at UFC 297, Strickland had success with his jab in the early rounds and landed more strikes than Du Plessis, but the South African cut Strickland's eye in the fourth.Strickland finished strongly and the fight went to the judges' scorecards, where Du Plessis triumphed 48-47, 48-47, 47-48.The South African has studied footage of that meeting and modified his strategy as he looks to secure a ninth straight victory in UFC."There's a lot of familiarities, but obviously we saw the mistakes we made and we made the adjustments," he said."We saw areas where we are better than him and where we can do even better, and he saw the same with us."So we had to fix every mistake because now they know those mistakes, so they are going to try to exploit that."With this fight camp, what we worked on is everything that I did to do it better, quicker and more precise, more accurate."I can't make small mistakes. The margin for error will be even smaller, so I need to be perfect on fight night."
Extra effort to stay at the top
By becoming his country's first UFC champion, Du Plessis has become one of the most recognisable and prominent sports figures in South Africa.He has been viewed as a symbol of national pride given he opted to remain based in his homeland despite the fact it remains a developing territory in MMA.Yet Du Plessis has become a polarising figure for some of his world views, including a show of support for United States President Donald Trump ahead of his fight against Strickland.Meanwhile, Du Plessis retains a hunger to remain at the top of his profession and is aware he has to set standards for others to follow."Ever since becoming world champion, I've had to prove that I'm the world champion to everybody that trains around me and work harder than every single person because I have to be the example of what it takes to be the best in the world," he said."The sacrifices needed to be made to be the best in the world [have] been tremendous, and it hasn't changed. To get to the top is one thing, to stay at the top is the exact same thing."You have to put in all that work. I've been loving every single moment of it."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
6 hours ago
- Wales Online
Louis Rees-Zammit admits truth about what happened in NFL and moment he knew it was over
Louis Rees-Zammit admits truth about what happened in NFL and moment he knew it was over Louis Rees-Zammit is back in rugby and has signed a deal with Gallagher Premiership side Bristol Bears Louis Rees-Zammit spoke to the media for the first time ahead of his big return to rugby. (Image: Bristol Bears RFC) Louis Rees-Zammit has revealed the truth about what happened during his time in the NFL and the moment he decided it was time to return to rugby. The former Jacksonville Jaguars player, who has now put pen to paper on a one-year deal with Bristol Bears, spoke to the media for the first time since the news of his big announcement and provided clarity on his decision to come back to the sport in which he made his name. He spent time with the Jaguars as a member of their 17-player practice squad, after being cut from the Kansas City Chiefs' roster at the end of last summer. The first year was understood to be more of a learning process than a genuine chance to make the team, with the second season a more realistic opportunity at getting game-time. However, before the pre-season games of his second season began, Rees-Zammit decided it was time to come home. While the decision was the result of gradual frustration, the Penarth-born man revealed there was a moment that he realised his time in the US was up. "It was definitely gradual," began Rees-Zammit. Article continues below "When I came back for year two, the first month or month and a half I was obviously getting minimal reps and day by day I was thinking about what would happen if I came back to rugby. "And I just let it keep going, keep going, kept training hard and we had a month off. "I went back and two weeks in, to be honest with you, that was when I made the decision that I really wanted to get back to rugby and get back to what I am best at. "And that is here in rugby. I think I have picked the perfect team to continue that." The former Gloucester man admitted he felt he was "wasting" his talent on the other side of the Atlantic, citing his lack of opportunity as a root cause for his frustration. He continued: "I just felt I was wasting my talent out there to be honest with you. It's very difficult to get into the NFL if you haven't come through the college system. You just don't get the same opportunities as those boys. "I wasn't getting many reps and I was fed up when I was practising there. I just wanted to come back and really express my game and play something I was used to. It (rugby) was a good journey but it's one that wasn't finished so I'm excited to carry it on." The 24-year-old will face Leicester Tigers in his first game back in rugby (if selected), and will be hoping to impress new Wales head coach Steve Tandy, who has replaced Warren Gatland as permanent boss of the Wales men's national team. Rees-Zammit was also asked about whether having the safety net of rugby hindered him in his journey Stateside. Former rugby and NFL player Christian Scotland-Williamson questioned Rees-Zammit's commitment to the cause after the Welshman left the door open for a return to rugby. "It was more I just knew how ruthless it was out there," he said. "It was absolutely brutal. I was seeing new players every day, players cut every day and it was pretty tough. "I knew that going out there, I spoke to Christian Wade a lot and he told me his experiences but when I went out there I saw it first hand, that was the reason for me never ruling rugby out because ultimately I could have got cut within the first day of being there. "That never hindered my performance. I gave it my best shot and maybe I didn't get the opportunities playing coming out of college did. "It makes sense really from a coach's point of view, because those boys have been playing that sport for so long, it is really hard to coach someone up in a sport they have never played before. Article continues below "I am very real about it probably wasn't for me in the end but it is what it is."
Glasgow Times
7 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Rangers 'hold interest' in Villarreal ace Karl Etta Eyong
The Villarreal forward is claimed to be on the radar of the Scottish Premiership club. Spanish media outlet El Chiringuito say that Rangers have an interest in the Cameroon-born attacker. Eyong joined the La Liga giants from Cadiz last year. He's made four first team appearances so far after scoring 19 goals for the club's B team. Rangers have made 10 new signings this summer under new head coach Russell Martin. It's anticipated they'll have a busy end to the window before it closes on Monday, September 1.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Alexander Volkanovski insists Lerone Murphy is ‘no-brainer' as next challenger after UFC 319 win
Alexander Volkanovski has insisted that Lerone Murphy is a 'no-brainer' as his next challenger for the UFC featherweight title, after the Briton's stunning knockout of Aaron Pico. In the co-main event of UFC 319 on Saturday (16 August), Murphy finished Pico with a spinning back elbow in the first round, brutally ending the latter's UFC debut. Pico, 28, made his name in Bellator and claimed that an emphatic win over the highly-ranked Murphy, 34, might propel him straight into a title fight. But instead, Murphy strengthened his case to challenge two-time champion Volkanovski next. The Briton's win over Pico took his UFC record to 9-0-1, dating back to his debut in the promotion in 2019. He is also unbeaten in his overall MMA career at 17-0-1. 'See you in December @LeroneMurphy congrats #ufc319,' Volkanovski wrote on Twitter/X on Saturday, before delving into the matter in greater depth on his YouTube channel. The Australian, 36, said: 'I think it's a bit of a no-brainer. December's looking good. There were earlier dates that probably wouldn't work for guys that are fighting right now anyway, so the later dates were always looking better for me anyway – and for my future potential opponents. So, December's looking like it could be there.' Volkanovski also acknowledged the credentials of Movsar Evloev, but noted how the Russian recently withdrew from a planned bout with Pico due to injury. 'A lot of people are going to be like, 'Movsar should be there,'' Volkanovski said. 'I tried. I tried to make that happen. I thought he deserves it, he did deserve it, he had this fight, and then I'm like: 'Alright, he's going to have to do this [Pico] fight and then he definitely gets it – and then he pulled out. 'And you know what the UFC is like with things like that [...] Maybe it was a serious injury, I'm not sure, I don't know what it is. Maybe that's why he can't fight, I don't know, but it doesn't look like it's going to be Movsar. I've tried with all of them, but it looks like it's Lerone Murphy. It makes a lot of sense, so let's do Lerone Murphy. December, sounds great.' Another match-up with the potential to crown a No 1 contender is Jean Silva's fight with Diego Lopes in September. While Lopes almost certainly wouldn't gain a title shot with a win, having lost to Volkanovski with the vacant belt on the line in April, Silva might. 'Did I know that the winner of this is going to be fighting for the title?' Volkanovski said of Murphy vs Pico. 'No, I don't. I still don't have no clear answers. But at least you had Pico saying he thinks he's going to knock me out and outwrestle me, and obviously I end up saying something back. 'I don't think he was being disrespectful for that, and I wasn't being disrespectful. I'm literally just trying to put the feelers out there. Who knows who I've got next? 'It could be Lerone Murphy, it could have been Pico, it could [be] Silva if he beats Diego. Movsar, you never know, I don't know. Or even Yair [Rodriguez]. I'm trying to put the feelers out for whoever it is, so it makes sense.' Volkanovski first held the featherweight title from late 2019 until early 2024, recording five successful title defences along the way. He then lost the belt with a knockout defeat by Ilia Topuria, who gave up the gold this February to move up to lightweight, where he claimed a second title. After Topuria vacated the featherweight belt, Volkanovski outpointed Lopes to reclaim the 145lb crown in April.
