Dricus Du Plessis knocks out Markus Perez in UFC debut

A packed UFC on ESPN+ 37 card will take place on “Fight Island” tonight, Saturday, October 10.

Headlining the 14-bout event in a matchup between top-five ranked bantamweights Marlon Moraes and Colby Sandhagen. The co-main event features a featherweight bout between Edson Barboza and Makwan Amirkhani inside the Flash Forum in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

In a middleweight matchup, Dricus Du Plessis takes on Markus Perez. Dricus Du Plessis makes his Octagon debut tonight against Perez riding a two-fight win streak. Even though this is his promotional debut, he plethora of knowledge to the cage. Dricus Du Plessis sports an impressive record with a well-rounded collection of submission and TKO/KO wins.

Markus Perez has 4 fights in the UFC thus far, balanced evenly at 2-2. He holds wins over James Bochnovic and Anthony Hernandez but is coming off of a loss at the hands of Wellington Turman. With the Octagon experience in his favor, Perez looks to get back to his winning ways this evening.

Here is how the middleweight bout between Dricus Du Plessis and Markus Perez went down at UFC on ESPN 16, including round-by-round scoring. For full results of the event, check them out right here.

Round 1:
Perez walks down Du Plessis early with a quick start. Du Plessis has his back against the cage briefly but is still working his kicks and jabs while he circles out. Perez lands a ferocious body kick and continues walking down Du Plessis with his stiff jabs. Du Plessis is finding his rhythm halfway through the first finding success in his leg kicks and punches. Du Plessis charges forward with his own punch onslaught with Perez avoiding any severe damage and gets right back to work, stalking Duplessis. Duplessis lands a heavy body kick. He moves forward as Perez looks to throw a spinning elbow, Du Plessis times a left hook to the side of Perez’s head which drops him. A few more hammerfists from Du Plessis and the referee sees enough and calls a halt to the contest.

Official Result: Dricus Du Plessis defeats Markus Perez at 3:22 of round 1 via KO

FIGHT ISLAND HITS DIFFERENT!!!

What a debut for @DricusDuPlessis 🙌

[ Main card is rolling on #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/7QPTNwRLj3

— UFC (@ufc) October 11, 2020

Adam Crist

Currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Wilmington University, Adam’s passion for the sport only grows stronger when a fighter’s voice can be heard. He thrives on asking detailed questions to inspire the thoughts behind the punches in hopes that each fighter can find their proper justice. Specializing in pre and post fight interviews for MyMMANews, Adam strives to keep the fight fans up to speed with the most recent and authentic MMA news possible. He is Co-promoter of Delaware’s premier kick-boxing and Muay Thai organization, IBF Promotions. Recently he has also accompanied MMA organizations Global Proving Ground and XCC as Co-host and ringside commentator.

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