Preview: UFC Fight Night 179 Main Card

Middleweights

Dricus Du Plessis (14-2) vs. Markus Perez (12-3)

ODDS: Du Plessis (-150), Perez (+130)

Five fights into his UFC tenure, and it is still difficult to get a grasp on Perez. Throughout both his pre-UFC career and time inside the Octagon, it seems that he works best as an opportunistic submission artist. If opponents are willing to dive directly into a choke, “Maluko” is more than willing to hang onto their neck until they tap out. Beyond that, there is really not a lot going on in terms of effectiveness. Perez has been a reliably strong wrestler and clinch artist, but that went out the window a bit in his last fight against Wellington Turman, and overall, he seems to be most comfortable as a flashy striker, which has not been a reliably effective part of his game, either. At any rate, the Brazilian looks to rebound from that Turman loss against an organizational newcomer. Du Plessis comes to the UFC out of South Africa, which has not always provided the best talent. However, he has proven himself in a way that most of his countrymen have not, as he enjoyed a successful run in Poland’s KSW promotion. His upside does not jump off the page, but there is a lot here to like, as he is a measured and powerful striker with some solid wrestling to back it all up. There is certainly a chance that Perez can find a win here—Du Plessis tends to dive for takedowns if he gets hit hard, which plays right into Perez’s best skills—but the Octagon rookie should be able to either win a slow-paced kickboxing match or overpower Perez in the clinch. Perez is durable so it will not be pretty, but the pick is Du Plessis via decision.

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