Dricus du Plessis

Dricus du Plessis is a proudly South African superstar. Photo: AFP

Dricus du Plessis submits Darren Till in back-and-forth UFC 282 war

Dricus du Plessis picked up the biggest win of his career while making a statement against Darren Till at UFC 282 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Dricus du Plessis

Dricus du Plessis is a proudly South African superstar. Photo: AFP

Dricus du Plessis picked up the biggest win of his career while making quite a statement against Darren Till at UFC 282 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

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According to the MMA Fighting website, the official stoppage came at 2:43 in the third round as Du Plessis got the job done.

“The gas tank can never be empty,” Du Plessis said after a grueling battle.

“It can go a little bit low but it never goes empty. Third round, it comes down to that dog and who’s toughest. Bring on that last round, we are always going to win it.

“I just beat freaking Darren Till, how awesome is that? Hello top 10!”

With plans to display more than just his striking, Du Plessis actually snatched an early takedown to bring Till down to the canvas.

As Till was trying to play defence and work his way back to the feet, Du Plessis was just blasting away with punches.

Another takedown followed with Du Plessis getting the back to begin working for a rear-naked choke while also hammering with punches.

Despite the dominant position, Till was eventually able to slip free as he looked for a guillotine choke and then a couple of slick combinations on the feet as he sought to even the odds after a lopsided start to the fight.

Dricus du Plessis climbing middleweight ladder

Till was measured as he rattled off a number of left-right combinations that kept Du Plessis on the end of his punches.

With five minutes remaining, Du Plessis showed more urgency as he began sticking a jab in Till’s face, which backed off the Liverpool native.

That led to the takedown and Du Plessis moving into the mount before applying the submission that helped him secure the victory.

On his way out of the cage, UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik noted that Till said he believed he tore his ACL during the fight, which would be a terrible injury for the one-time UFC title challenger. Typical recovery time for an ACL injury in the knee is typically one year or longer.

As for Du Plessis, he continues his winning ways with another impressive showing as he looks to climb up the ladder in the UFC’s middleweight division.