Dricus du Plessis is not stranger to the role of underdog.

In several bouts throughout his still-undefeated UFC run, the South African has been one the wrong side of the oddsmakers’ predictions, perhaps most notably this past summer when he became the first man not named ‘Israel Adesanya’ to defeat Robert Whittaker in the best part of a decade.

Another fight that was expected to be a tighter contest was his first ‘big name’ win in the UFC middleweight division: a December 2022 showdown with former welterweight title challenger Darren Till. While the Englishman had dropped four of his past five heading into the bout with Du Plessis, he was still regarded as a significant test for the rising South African contender — and, as you can see in the video below, it was one that he passed with flying colours.

–