Brunson vs Plessis

Who won Brunson vs Plessis?

Dricus Du Plessis beat Derek Brunson by knockout in the 2nd round during the prelims of UFC 285, on Saturday 4th March 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Middleweight division, which meant the weight limit was 185 pounds (13.2 stone or 83.9 KG).

Brunson vs Plessis stats

Derek Brunson stepped into the octagon with a record of 23 wins, 8 losses and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Dricus Du Plessis made his way to the cage with a record of 17 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 7 of those wins coming by knock out and 9 by submission.

Derek Brunson's UFC record stood at 14-7-0, while Dricus Du Plessis' came in at 7-0-0.

The stats suggested Brunson had an advantage in power over Plessis, with a 52% knock out percentage over Plessis' 41%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Plessis had a massive advantage over Brunson, boasting a 53% submission rate over Brunson's 17%.

Derek Brunson was the older man by 10 years, at 40 years old.

Brunson had a 1-inch reach advantage.

Brunson was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 12 more fights, and made his debut in 2010, 3 years and 2 months earlier than Plessis, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 16 more professional rounds, 63 to Plessis' 47.

Brunson vs Plessis form

Derek Brunson had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Ray Cooper at PFL 10: 2023 PFL World Championship on 24th November 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Anthem, Washington, United States.

Previous to that, he had lost to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 285 on 4th March 2023 by knockout in the 2nd round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Jared Cannonier at UFC 271 on 12th February 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Toyota Center, Houston.

Before that, he had beaten Darren Till at UFC Vegas 36 on 4th September 2021 by submission in the 3rd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 22 on 20th March 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

Brunson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 4 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 1 day. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Plessis' last 4 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 9 months and 14 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 11 months and 11 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 9 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Brunson vs Plessis?

Derek Brunson was a 37/20 (+190) underdog going into the contest, while Dricus Du Plessis made his way into the ring at 11/25 (-230) with oddsmakers.