South African UFC star Dricus du Plessis is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career this weekend. The Pretoria native will take on Sean Strickland at UFC 297. But before we get to that fight, we’ll be taking a look at the fighting history and his ranks in the form of martial arts he’s trained in since his early years.

Dricus du Plessis quickly rose the ranks in the UFC to become one of the top fighters in the promotion. Possessing great knockout power, he has showcased excellent grappling skills as well. This has led people to wonder if he’s a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Let’s find that out.

Dricus du Plessis is a black belt but in kickboxing

The 30-year-old middleweight fighter started his professional career back in 2013. He has trained in several combat sports disciplines, including judo, kickboxing, and BJJ. However, Dricus du Plessis does not have a black belt in BJJ, despite his exceptional grappling skills. Rather, ‘Stillknocks’ has a black belt in kickboxing. He also has an impressive kickboxing record of 33-0, according to the UFC’s official website.

Dricus du Plessis packs a lot of power in his punches and has 9 career knockouts, which is the reason behind his nickname ‘Stillknocks’. Having said that, the surprising thing is he has 10 submission wins in his career, which proves that he can adjust and adapt to a variety of fighting styles. Even though he doesn’t have a black belt, du Plessis once submitted the whole Gracie Barra team all by himself.

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‘Stillknocks’ out-grappled an entire team

Dricus du Plessis has competed in grappling competitions while also being a part of the UFC and has been successful in it. The South African sensation once competed in the Submission Kings team grappling event, where he represented the same team he does in mixed martial arts and continues to train with them, CIT MMA. Du Plessis came out to come first from his team to compete against Gracie Barra, where he showcased excellent and high-level jiu-jitsu.

As we mentioned earlier about him not having a black belt in BJJ, that did not seem to be a big deal for ‘Stillknocks’. The middleweight title contender put pressure on all members of Gracie Barra, submitting them one after the other. The video clips of him submitting the whole team can be found on the internet, especially on social media platforms.

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There is no denying that Dricus du Plessis knows how to handle himself in a fight in both aspects, standing and while on the ground. It will be interesting to see how he fares against a striker like Sean Strickland, who possesses excellent defense and many believe that he’s underrated. Will he become the first South African UFC champion? We will find that out this weekend.

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