Dricus du Plessis trains with Gareth ‘Soldier Boy’ McLellan. Photo: Dricus du Plessis/Instagram
UFC 276: How to watch Dricus du Plessis fight Brad Tavares
Dricus du Plessis will head to the UFC with the backing of the entire nation and continues to prepare to face Brad Tavares on 2 July.
Dricus du Plessis trains with Gareth ‘Soldier Boy’ McLellan. Photo: Dricus du Plessis/Instagram
With just a few days to go until UFC 276 and Dricus du Plessis’ first bout against a ranked opponent in the promotion, the South African fighter says he is ready for Brad Tavares.
Du Plessis has been training in Cape Town ahead of his return to the United States for the event in Las Vegas.
How to watch Dricus du Plessis fight Brad Tavares
UFC 276 will be broadcast on SuperSport in South Africa, with the fight set to get underway at around 02:00 (SAST) on Sunday 3 July.
Stillknocks initially flew to the United States to face Chris Curtis.
He would then draw Anthony Hernandez after Curtis was forced out with an injury.
However, when Kelvin Gastelum needed a new opponent, Du Plessis was pulled from the scheduled bout against Hernandez to face him.
It wasn’t to be though as Gastelum was forced out due to injury and Du Plessis did not get to compete on the big night.
Du Plessis is undefeated in two UFC bouts scoring KO victories over both Markus Perez and Trevin Giles.
Du Plessis is still some way off being a credible challenger to The Last Stylebender Israel Adensaya, but a victory over Tavares will bring him a step closer to being ranked himself.
“Just over a week to go till #UFC276 and I’m in the best shape of my life, thank you to my team at the CIT Performance Institute for getting me ready as always and my coaches for all the time invested!”
He also thanked USN for fueling him “in the best possible way to be ready for war.”
Dricus du Plessis angered by pulled fight
Du Plessis was unhappy with Gastelum’s withdrawal after having him pulled from a confirmed fight, and felt that the circumstances were fishy.
“Who gets an injury a week before a fight?” he questioned back in April. “What could you possibly be doing to get injured, and if he was injured, you don’t know what the camp was like, but why would he insist on having a new opponent when he had to pull out? … So he wasn’t injured on Monday, because that’s [when] he insisted on the fight, and all of a sudden, he’s injured on Friday? That sounds very fishy to me.
“I guess they started watching tape and that’s where the problems started, to be honest. … He really needs a win – let’s not beat around the bush, he needs a win – and this is a great opportunity for him. He’s fighting a guy who’s making some noise, a South African guy, he’s ranked No. 20, and he finds out, let’s get this easy fight and get in the win column. … Then he watched the tape and realized this is no walkover fight.”
