Roberto Soldic, who last defeated UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in 2018, praises du Plessis’ unorthodox style and success, acknowledging his deceptive strength and ability to adapt, while predicting that du Plessis will defend his title against Sean Strickland.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis hasn’t lost in nearly seven years. The last man to defeat him, Roberto Soldic, has nothing but praise for his former opponent’s success.
Soldic, a former two-division champ in KSW, is now with ONE Championship and preparing for a fight in Qatar on Feb. 20 at ONE 171. He faced du Plessis twice back in 2018. Their first encounter ended with du Plessis winning by TKO in the second round, earning the welterweight title.
However, Soldic got his revenge in their rematch. He knocked out du Plessis in the third round to reclaim his title. That’s the last loss on du Plessis’ record—since then, he’s won ten straight fights, including an 8-0 run in the UFC.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Soldic said about du Plessis’ UFC success when talking to MMA Fighting. “From our first fight, he showed he’s a powerful striker with that left-hand knockout.” He added, “He’s strong.”
People often ask Soldic about fighting du Plessis. “He’s crazy powerful,” he says. “Conditioned and unpredictable. You never know what’s coming next.”
After losing to du Plessis, Soldic had to reassess and make adjustments. Turns out, many top UFC fighters have made similar mistakes against du Plessis.
“I think [Israel] Adesanya underestimated him too,” Soldic noted. “He might not look impressive at first glance, but he’s deceptive and throws hard punches.”
In their first fight, Soldic admits he underestimated du Plessis and let emotions get the best of him. “I wanted to finish him badly,” he confessed. But in the rematch? “I was calmer and sharper.”
Soldic takes pride in his rematch victory over du Plessis. It looks even better now given du Plessis’ subsequent success.
The key difference between their bouts was Soldic adapting to du Plessis’ unconventional style. The result spoke volumes about those changes.
“In my rematch with him, I read everything,” Soldic explained. “I was calm and patient—sharp.” Du Plessis remains a formidable opponent due to his power and conditioning.
On Saturday, du Plessis faces Sean Strickland again after their previous close split decision battle.
Strickland may want to emulate Soldic’s rematch success against du Plessis. Yet, Soldic still supports his former adversary for finding creative ways to win.
“Everything he throws is hard—hard as f*ck,” Soldic remarked about du Plessis. “You think you got him, but then he just explodes.”
Soldic believes du Plessis will defend his title again against Strickland. “I don’t know why, but I think he’s only going up,” he concluded with confidence.