"8% for the last 3 years" - When Dricus du Plessis' coach gave the most bizarre reasoning for the South African's compromised gas tank
Dricus du Plessis and his coach previously faced considerable criticism due to the latter's comments regarding his health. In April 2023, du Plessis' head coach, Morne Visser, claimed his pupil competed with an eight percent oxygen intake through his nose.
'Stillknocks' has long trained under Morne Visser at the CIT Performance Institute in Pretoria, South Africa. Du Plessis made his UFC debut in Oct. 2020 and is 7-0 in the organization thus far.
In an Instagram post, Visser suggested that though he generally stays away from fighter "politics," he was speaking up because many had lambasted du Plessis for his supposedly compromised gas tank in his UFC fights.
Visser asserted that they'd concealed that du Plessis' oxygen intake via his nose was limited to eight percent for three years. Apparently, 'Stillknocks' signed with the UFC regardless and didn't turn fights down, as Dana White usually doesn't take kindly to that (Ironically, White and du Plessis seemingly clashed over his turning down a title fight against Israel Adesanya in Sept. 2023!).
Elsewhere in the April 2023 Instagram post, Visser emphasized that du Plessis competed thrice in the past seven months and dominated his opposition with negligible oxygen during rounds.
Aiming at then-UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, Visser implied that 'Stillknocks' would dethrone him in Aug. 2023. He predicted that if 'The Last Stylebender' would still continue his career, du Plessis would defend the middleweight title against him in South Africa. The South African coach then alluded to the long-running Adesanya-du Plessis 'real' African debate.
The South Africa-born du Plessis had often spoken about wanting to be the first fighter, born and trained in Africa, to become a UFC champion. Adesanya, a Nigerian-born New Zealand resident, strongly disapproved of du Plessis' remarks. 'Izzy' pointed out that the UFC has already had African champions, including himself, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou.
Well, Visser sided with du Plessis and jibed that the real African (du Plessis), who now had a full oxygen tank, would dominantly defeat the New Zealander (Adesanya). An excerpt from Visser's Instagram post read:
"He has just had a nose surgery which was suppose to happen 3 years ago. Total oxygen intake threw [sic] both his nostrils of about 8% for the last 3 years."
Israel Adesanya's hilarious response to Dricus du Plessis' coach's comments
Many in the MMA community questioned the legitimacy of Morne Visser's oxygen intake claims regarding Dricus du Plessis. Sports medicine doctor and influencer, Dr. Brian Sutterer, insinuated that Visser was wrong.
Additionally, Israel Adesanya jibed at Visser and Dricus du Plessis by tweeting an image of his nostrils and writing:
"Lol he only on 8%. Look at my nostrils!"
Israel Adesanya subsequently dropped his UFC middleweight belt in a unanimous decision defeat against Sean Strickland in Sept. 2023. Strickland then lost it via split decision to Dricus du Plessis in Jan. 2024. Presently, du Plessis is scheduled to defend the middleweight title against Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 18, 2024.