UFC 285 results: Derek Brunson's corner throws in towel after Dricus Du Plessis turns the tides
Corner stoppages aren’t very frequent in mixed martial arts, but one of the UFC 285 prelims Saturday ended after a towel was thrown in by a coach.
After Dricus Du Plessis turned the tides and landed heavy ground-and-pound, Derek Brunson’s boxing coach Dre Herd called a stop to the fight at 4:59 of Round 2. The bout took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The bout was a wild 10 minutes in which both men had their moments. Both men attempted leg submissions simultaneously in an unusual grappling exchange in Round 1 before Brunson (23-9 MMA, 14-7 UFC) found significant success with his boxing.
Du Plessis (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) reversed the momentum with a massive leg kick in Round 2 that seemed to disable Brunson and limit movement. Brunson found the mark for a charging flurry, but Du Plessis responded with some hard punches including a right hand that dropped his opponent.
Once on the canvas, Brunson flailed his arms and legs. Du Plessis snuck through a massive left hand in the final seconds that clattered Brunson’s head off the canvas and got the towel-throw reaction from the corner.
Brunson's team throws in the towel!!@DricusduPlessis will leave #UFC285 with the stoppage victory! pic.twitter.com/SyQ5vbUmA1
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2023
Du Plessis, 29, has won seven fights in a row. Other UFC victories include Darren Till and Brad Tavares. The other side of the equation, Brunson has now lost back-to-back fights by TKO.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 285 results include:
- Dricus Du Plessis def. Derek Brunson via TKO (corner stoppage) – Round 2, 4:59
- Amanda Ribas def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
- Marc-Andre Barriault def. Julian Marquez via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:12
- Ian Garry def. Song Kenan via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:22
- Cameron Saaiman def. Mana Martinez via majority decision (29-26, 29-27, 28-28)
- Tabatha Ricci def. Jessica Penne via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 2:14
- Farid Basharat def. Da’Mon Blackshear via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Loik Radzhabov def. Esteban Ribovics via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.