Dricus Du Plessis used a second wind to finish Darren Till at UFC 282.
Du Plessis (18-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) relied on his wrestling throughout the fight to submit Till (18-5 MMA, 6-5-1 UFC) at the 2:43 mark of Round 3 on the main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
After a dominant first round for Du Plessis, Till was able to rally in Round 2, but Du Plessis dug deep to get the finish in the third.
DU PLESSIS GETS THE TAP ON TILL 🔥 #UFC282 pic.twitter.com/znIzPgbJLk
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 11, 2022
In the first, Du Plessis landed an early takedown and proceeded to unload a barrage of punches. Till ate an alarming amount of strikes but kept giving the thumbs up to referee Mark Smith, who was close to stopping the fight multiple times. Du Plessis got Till’s back and worked for a rear-naked choke. Till escaped, went for a guillotine choke, but lost it. Du Plessis landed a takedown late but had visibly slowed down.
Till put the pressure on Du Plessis to start Round 2 as he sensed him slowing down. Till backed him up with a one-two combination followed by a big knee, but Du Plessis used the momentum to land a takedown. Till made his way back up and started finding a home for his left hand. Du Plessis shot and got the takedown in the final minute. He attempted a leg lock, but Till spun his way out of danger.
Both men looked tired in Round 3, but midway through the final frame, Du Plessis landed a takedown and ended up immediately in full mount. He quickly took Till’s back and sunk in the rear-naked choke for the quick tapout.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 282 results include:
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Darren Till via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:43
- Ilia Topuria def. Bryce Mitchell via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:10
- Raul Rosas Jr. def. Jay Perrin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:44
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Chris Daukaus via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:23
- Edmen Shahbazyan def. Dalcha Lungiambula via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:41
- Chris Curtis def. Joaquin Buckley via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:49
- Billy Quarantillo def. Alexander Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:30
- T.J. Brown def. Erik Silva via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:41
- Cameron Saaiman def. Steven Koslow via TKO (punches, knees) – Round 3, 4:13
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 282.
