Brunson vs Plessis

Who won Brunson vs Plessis?

Dricus Du Plessis beat Derek Brunson by knockout in the 2nd round during the prelims of UFC 285, on Saturday 4th March 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Brunson vs Plessis stats

Derek Brunson stepped into the octagon with a record of 23 wins, 8 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Dricus Du Plessis made his way to the cage with a record of 17 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 7 of those wins coming by knock out and 9 by submission.

Dricus Du Plessis marked his 9th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2020.

Derek Brunson's UFC record stood at 14-7-0, while Dricus Du Plessis' came in at 9-0-0.

The stats suggested Brunson had an advantage in power over Plessis, with a 52% knock out percentage over Plessis' 41%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Plessis had a massive advantage over Brunson, boasting a 53% submission rate over Brunson's 17%.

Derek Brunson was the older man by 10 years, at 41 years old.

Brunson had a 1-inch reach advantage.

Brunson was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 12 more fights, and made his debut in 2010, 3 years and 2 months earlier than Plessis, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 7 more professional rounds, 63 to Plessis' 56.

Brunson vs Plessis form

Plessis had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2opponents and going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Sean Strickland at UFC 297 on 20th January 2024 by split decision in their UFC Middleweight championship fight at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada.

Previous to that, he had beaten Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 on 8th July 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Derek Brunson at UFC 285 on 4th March 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Before that, he was victorious against Darren Till at UFC 282 on 10th December 2022 by submission in the 3rd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had won against Brad Tavares at UFC 276 on 2nd July 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Activity check

Plessis' last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 10 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 27 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Brunson vs Plessis?

Derek Brunson was a 37/20 (+190) underdog going into the contest, while Dricus Du Plessis made his way into the ring at 11/25 (-230) with oddsmakers.