UFC Fight Night 179: Moraes vs. Sandhagen - Predictions and Picks

#4 UFC Middleweight Division: Markus Perez vs. Dricus du Plessis

Markus Perez is one of the UFC's more underrated fighters.

This fight would initially have seen Perez facing off with his fellow Brazilian Rodolfo Vieira, in what honestly sounded like a horrible fight for 'Maluko.' But with Vieira out with an injury, South Africa's du Plessis has been given the call for his UFC debut. So can he make it a good one?

'Stillknocks' has a solid record, at least. A champion in Poland's KSW and South Africa's EFC promotions, he's 14-2 and has won his last two fights with finishes. Judging on the footage available on him, he's an interesting fighter indeed.

Du Plessis has nine wins by submission compared to five by KO or TKO, but he appears to be a Muay Thai stylist by nature rather than an outright grappler. He's clearly dangerous on the ground, but appears to be a more reactive grappler – latching onto chokes when given the opportunity rather than taking opponents down to hunt for them.

On the feet, meanwhile, the native of South Africa clearly hits very hard, has good technique, and shows good head movement at times. He's worryingly susceptible to a wild brawl, but at 26 years old and with just one loss by KO, he does appear confident in his chin. In all honesty, though, brawling is never a good idea, and he'd be wise not to do that against Perez.

'Maluko' isn't a natural striker by any means, but he's got knockout power, he's willing to throw low-percentage strikes, and he's definitely up for a brawl as we've seen throughout his UFC career. He's also a serious Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, which should be a little disconcerting for du Plessis, who hasn't really faced anyone that great on the ground yet.

In all honesty, Perez might be a little underrated. His UFC losses have come to either better athletes, or largely by 'Maluko' seemingly losing focus at times and struggling to put his offense together fully. Against lesser fighters such as Anthony Hernandez and James Bochnovic, though, he's looked very good.

Du Plessis is almost definitely a more explosive athlete than Perez. But the question is whether the South African is as good as the other UFC fighters – Wellington Turman, Andrew Sanchez, Eryk Anders – who have beaten Perez in the past. And to be honest, I'm not too sure he is.

Sure, he could be that good, but fighters from the African circuit traditionally haven't fared well when they've stepped up to the UFC level, and while du Plessis has definitely looked good on that circuit, this is a big step up for him.

Perez's grappling will definitely give him a lot to think about, and while he might go onto more success in the future, I don't think he'll win his UFC debut.

The Pick: Perez via second-round submission