Dricus du Plessis and Ilia Topuria in the spotlight as legendary kickboxing coach names the best striker in MMA

Renowned kickboxing coach Henri Hooft recently expressed his opinion, identifying Ilia Topuria and Dricus du Plessis as two of the elite strikers in MMA.

In the UFC, Topuria has won five out of his eight fights by knockout. On the other hand, du Plessis has achieved four of his nine victories via KO or TKO.

In an exclusive interview with Home of Fight, Hooft praised Topuria’s clean striking ability while also discussing du Plessis’ style, saying:

"MMA striking is totally different than like boxing or kickboxing. So, you have to [be] clear, but of course everybody knows that Ilia [Topuria] has maybe at least the most powerful and fast hands, as you can see, has a very good technique, good style. For me, [he's] the best striker."

He added:

"But you have also people that have striking, that's not technically so good, but it works for them, and you see with Dricus [du Plessis]. He's not the great striker that they say they were technically, but he hit at the right moment... I, of course, am a big fan of Ilia, but also a big fan of Dricus."

Check out Henri Hooft's comments below (10:40):

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When Dricus du Plessis backed Ilia Topuria to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski

Ilia Topuria was scheduled to face Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title at UFC 298. Ahead of the bout, Dricus du Plessis shared his thoughts on the matchup and expressed his support for Topuria.

While speaking in an interview with James Lynch, 'Stillknocks' said:

"I'm a massive fan [of Volkanovski], he's an incredible fighter. Against Ilia Topuria, a good friend of mine, we fought on the same card on our debuts, and we had the same trajectory to the title. So I am 100% backing Ilia Topuria in that fight."

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (21:38):

At UFC 298, Topuria dethroned Volkanovski to become the new featherweight champion. After successfully defending his title against Max Holloway, 'El Matador' vacated the championship. He is now scheduled to compete against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight championship at UFC 317 on June 28.