Dricus du Plessis fires back at Steve Erceg for rating him "6/10" fighter
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis silenced all critics at UFC 305 when he soundly dispatched former champ Israel Adesanya inside four rounds. One such critic was the man who competed in the co-main event of the night, former UFC flyweight world title challenger Steve Erceg.
In the days leading up to UFC 305, Erceg ranked du Plessis' overall fighter rating rather poorly, saying the South African champion is a "6/10" fighter. Some would call it a poetic turn of events, but come fight night, du Plessis won via submission, while Erceg was knocked out in the first round.
The champion viciously clapped back at his flyweight detractor by posting a photo of him getting KO'd with the caption: It read:
"6 outa 10 @steveerceg 🤣🤣"
![Dricus du Plessis' Instagram story. [Image credit: @dricusduplessis on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/08/6979e-17241051521464-1920.jpg?w=500)
UFC 305 results: Dricus du Plessis succcessfully defends belt against Israel Adesanya, Kai Kara-France KOs Steve Erceg
If you think that clapback was brutal, you should see the fights last weekend. In the co-main event of the night, Steve Erceg was handed the first knockout loss of his career at the hands of top-ranked flyweight Kai Kara-France.
After a few competitive exchanges in the center of the octagon, Kara-France landed a beautiful stepping left hook that dropped Erceg immediately. The Australian fighter somehow got up but was swarmed and later dropped again with an overhand right, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
As for du Plessis, the champion successfully defended his belt in a back-and-forth affair with former two-time UFC middleweight kingpin Israel 'The Last Stylebender' Adesanya.
After a close first round, 'Stillknocks' used his wrestling and grappling to take the second. In the third round, it appeared that he was quiteZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ gassed out as Adesanya's seemingly sapped his energy with pin-point accurate striking.
In the fourth round, it appeared the end is nigh for Dricus du Plessis, as Adesanya was pouring it on with the strikes. Past mid-way into the round, the champion thread the proverbial eye of the needle by landing a hard right hand to his challengers dome. A few more strikes after that, he took Adesanya down and sank in a fight-ending rear-naked choke.
With the submission win, the South African champion successfully defends his belt for the first time and improves his pro MMA record to 22-2 while Adesanya drops to 24-4.