UFC 285 Preview: Derek Brunson – Dricus Du Plessis

Derek Brunson

On the prelims of UFC 285, we are going to see a helluva matchup in the middleweight division. Top contenders Derek Brunson (23-8) and Dricus Du Plessis (18-2) will battle it out as they look to take a step towards title contention.

Derek Brunson initially said he only had one fight left after his last fight. However, he’s changed his tune recently and now he wants to go until he gets his elusive title shot. Brunson last fought just over a year ago against Jared Cannonier.

That fight was considered a title eliminator. Brunson had won five fights in a row leading up to the Cannonier fight. Had there been a sixth minute in the first round, Brunson would’ve likely won and earned a title shot. However, in the second round, he seemed to gas out and Cannonier finished him.

Now, he’s looking to bounce back against Du Plessis who is undefeated in his UFC career. The last time we saw Du Plessis was back in December when he submitted Darren Till. It was Du Plessis’ fourth fight in the promotion and it was his third finish. He’s looking to make a statement against Brunson on Saturday night.

UFC 285 Prediction

This is such a fascinating matchup between middleweight contenders and I like both in this matchup for different reasons. Du Plessis has the ability to hurt Brunson on the feet and put a ton of pressure on which could test the cardio of Brunson.

Brunson has shown the ability to land good shots on the feet and we know he possesses good wrestling. Du Plessis also has decent wrestling, but I can’t see him attempting to go to that in this matchup against the superior wrestler in Brunson.

Du Plessis needs to be sharp with defensive wrestling and he can’t keep his guard too high. There’s been too many times I’ve seen him go backwards where he leaves himself wide open for takedown attempts. I mean Darren Till was able to take him down.

I’ve gone back and forth with this prediction, but I think I’m actually going to go with Brunson. Something just tells me the wrestling will make the difference and he’ll pick up the big win at UFC 285.

Prediction: Derek Brunson by Decision