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#4 Dricus du Plessis shows he’s a natural-born finisher
The UFC 264 preliminary bouts flew largely under the radar, but we did see a potentially star-making performance from South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis, who knocked out Trevin Giles in explosive fashion.
It was an interesting performance, as ‘Stillknocks’ showed off an excellent ground game in the first round to largely dominate Giles, who’d apparently bragged that he’d have a big advantage on the feet.
That idea was proven painfully wrong in the second round. When Giles made the error of coming forward with his hands low, du Plessis landed a crushing right hand that absolutely crumpled him. ‘Stillknocks’ followed up with some heavy shots, but it was clear that Giles was done.
Last night was probably the biggest possible spotlight for an up-and-coming fighter like du Plessis, and to say that he capitalized would be a huge understatement. This was an explosive win and ‘Stillknocks’ is clearly a fighter to watch going forward.
#5 Ilia Topuria shuts out the noise to knock out Ryan Hall at UFC 264
Spain’s Ilia Topuria came into UFC 264 as one of the featherweight division’s hottest prospects, with a record of 11-0 and two wins to his name in the UFC. However, last night he was faced with a tricky bout.
Grappling ace Ryan Hall – known as ‘The Wizard’ – brought his own winning streak into UFC 264 (4-0), and his style had proven difficult for anyone to deal with.
Immediately, Hall began the fight in his unorthodox style, rolling for potential leglocks and seemingly avoiding any kind of stand-up exchange with Topuria.
It would’ve been easy for the Spaniard to become lost in the noise and confusion and to engage Hall in the fight that he wanted, but showing incredible poise, Topuria steadfastly refused.
Instead, he took his time, stayed calm, and when Hall left himself slightly open following another roll, Topuria pounced. He delivered a series of violent and explosive punches that left ‘The Wizard’ unconscious with seconds to go in the first round.
This was a hugely impressive display from Topuria, who showed exactly why he’s so highly rated right now – and the fact that it came with a violent finish was just a bonus.
