Dricus Du Plessis doesn’t think Darren Till has mentally recovered from his losses.
Till has been on a bit of a skid as he’s on a two-fight losing skid and is just 1-4 in his last five as he faces Du Plessis on Saturday at UFC 282. It’s an intriguing matchup and many believe Till is in a must-win spot, and Du Plessis believes Till just isn’t cut out to be a middleweight and is in his own head too much.
Going to be madness at middleweight 🔥@DarrenTill2 is BACK to face @DricusduPlessis at #UFC282!
10pmET / 7pmPT on @ESPNPlus PPV 📺📱 pic.twitter.com/39eq4ccCYW
— UFC (@ufc) December 9, 2022
Dricus Du Plessis’s Statement
“I think he’s in his own head,” Du Plessis said at UFC 282 media day. “When he started out, he was extremely motivated, he was a force at 170, he was a big 170, he was imposing his style on people. Once you get to the big boys at middleweight, it’s a completely different story.”
According to Dricus Du Plessis, he believes Darren Till thought moving up would be an easier route to being the champion which isn’t the case. The South African knows how dangerous and deep the middleweight division is and is confident he will defeat Till on Saturday. A large reason why Du Plessis is confident is due to the fact he thinks Till is not mentally there.
“I think he took the move up as almost an easier route and that’s not the case at all,” Du Plessis said. “We hit a little harder, everybody’s a little stronger at 185, and I believe that was where the big mistake came. Then, of course, Darren Till losing the big fight against Masvidal, getting back against Gastelum it was not an amazing performance but he got the W, and then getting those losses – definitely the mental aspect, that’s where his biggest downfall came and I don’t think he recovered from that. I think that’s where he’s his own worst enemy.”
Darren Till, as mentioned, is coming off back-to-back losses to Derek Brunson and Robert Whittaker. His lone at middleweight is a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum. Dricus Du Plessis, meanwhile, is 3-0 in the UFC and coming off a decision win over Brad Tavares.
