MARKUS PEREZ VS. DRICUS DU PLESSIS
An interesting middleweight affair lands on the main card as Brazilian Markus Perez welcomes South African newcomer Dricus du Plessis to the Octagon for the first time.
The 30-year-old Perez, who likes to cosplay as Heath Ledger’s Joker at weigh-ins and whose nickname “Maluko” means “crazy,” has gone 2-3 in five UFC starts after arriving in the promotion with a 10-0 mark and coming off an LFA middleweight title win over Ian Heinisch. He’s prioritized entertaining over fighting safely and earning wins at times, but his submission finishes of James Bochnovic and Anthony Hernandez highlight the dangerous potential he carries with him to the cage.
Originally scheduled to fight countryman Rodolfo Vieira, Perez will instead look to get back into the win column against the 26-year-old du Plessis, who arrives in the Octagon sporting a 14-2 record.
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In addition to claiming championship gold in both the welterweight and middleweight divisions under the EFC banner, “Stillknocks” also claimed the welterweight strap in Poland’s KSW promotion by registering a second-round stoppage win over fellow standout Roberto Soldic. He dropped a rematch against “Robocop” six months later in Wembley Arena, but has since picked up consecutive stoppage wins heading into this one.
Du Plessis was one of the top unsigned talents in the world and is a tremendous addition to the UFC roster, but it will be interesting to see how he does making his debut on short notice against an unorthodox opponent like Perez.
The middleweight division remains wide open, especially outside of the Top 10, which means there is an opportunity for either one of these men (or both) to string together a collection of strong performances and make a move towards the rankings in quick succession. Unfortunately, only one of them can emerge victorious on Saturday night, but the process of determining who that is should be all kinds of fun to take in.
TOM ASPINALL vs. ALAN BAUDOT
Tom Aspinall looks to build on a blistering debut performance earlier this summer when he steps back into the Octagon this weekend against promotional newcomer Alan Baudot.
After pressing pause on his cage-fighting career to try his hands, literally, as a boxer, Team Kaobon’s Aspinall returned to MMA last year with a pair of first-round stoppage wins under the Cage Warriors banner before making his UFC debut this summer. He needed just 45 seconds to dispatch Jake Collier in his first foray into the Octagon, showcasing his sharp, powerful hands boxing and establishing himself as one to watch in the heavyweight ranks.
Baudot gets the call to make the walk to the Octagon for the first time after Aspinall’s original opponent, Serghei Spivac, was forced off the card. The 32-year-old Frenchman trains alongside rising star Ciryl Gane at the MMA Factory in Paris and carries an 8-1 record into this contest, having scored back-to-back stoppage victories since incurring the only loss of his career to UFC light heavyweight Dalcha Lungiambula a number of years ago.
Even on short notice, this is a huge opportunity for Baudot, who enters with the chance to upend a major prospect while catapulting himself into the heavyweight conversation with a victory. While this has become more of a high-risk fight for Aspinall with the late change, the British slugger can still make a serious statement by handling his business swiftly for a second time in as many UFC starts.
