Former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is taking a meticulous approach to breaking down his loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319, and he’s not shying away from the footage.
Appearing this week on The Ariel Helwani Show, Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) revealed that he has studied the fight extensively since surrendering his middleweight title, revisiting the bout multiple times each week as part of his preparation moving forward.
“That’s of course, I watched the fight a lot actually, and making sure that those same mistakes don't happen again,” Du Plessis said. “Maybe like, twice a week. Really? Yes, of course. Yeah. That's how I study fights.”
While some fighters prefer to avoid rewatching painful defeats, Du Plessis said that was never an option for him. However, he did give himself a brief window before diving back in.
“I would say it took me around three weeks after the fight, before I actually watched it again, and then since then, I've watched it quite often to make sure that, you know, it's part of my training,” he explained. “It's watching my fights and knowing what I did wrong and seeing the mistakes.”
The 185-pound contender described a methodical film-study process, sometimes reviewing the fight while doing cardio, and other times taking a more analytical approach.
“When I'm doing it more technically, I'll have a pen and paper and I'll write down exactly what I see,” Du Plessis said.
Each viewing, he insists, reveals something new.
“Yes, the devil is in the details,” he said. “Things happen so quickly and then you see the mistakes you make, especially at this level. It's not massive mistakes. It's always your one foot was too far away. Your balance wasn't there. And that's the kind of stuff we need to work on in training.”
For Du Plessis, correcting those seemingly minor technical lapses is the key to reclaiming championship form. As he put it, “Those small mistakes, as you fix them, they make big mistakes.”
