“The best sh-t fighter” – that’s how former opponents Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker described UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. The South African has no right to be as good as he is. Styles, as they say, make fights; except, in ‘DDP’s case, whose style is un-figure-out-able. While he has a plethora of what would be considered technical holes, if it were anyone else, Du Plessis just finds a way to win.

His legendary strength, unstoppable offensive output, and sheer strength of will, of course, have a large part to play in his UFC success, but his unpredictability cannot be underestimated either. At least that is what UFC CEO Dana White thinks, as he warned Sean Strickland of ‘DDP’s weird fighting style ahead of their UFC 312 title rematch next weekend.

“I don’t know if you figure him [Du Plessis] out. He’s got a very awkward style, I don’t know if you figure him out, we’re going to find out next Saturday. But Sean Strickland’s one of those guys too. His style of fighting, you know, the way that he sets his punches up, and you know, unbelievable jab. And I don’t know if you can if you can really train, bring somebody in to mimic Du Plessis, he’s got a very awkward style,” White told ‘The Mac Life’ in an interview.

‘DDP’ and Strickland had an epic battle at UFC 297 last year, which was razor-close. Du Plessis eked through a split decision victory in the end, but many, including Dana White, felt the decision should have gone ‘Tarzan’s way. This was Du Plessis’ closest fight, and the reason for that, as White pointed out, was Strickland’s own unorthodox, hands-down, Philly Shell fighting style.

But this time around, the champ will have the benefit of having fought and thus somewhat figured out Strickland – which is likely not true the other way. Although Strickland is unorthodox he is not as unorthodox as Du Plessis, who has admitted that even he doesn’t know what he is doing at times. Or maybe we’re wrong and Strickland has figured him out. Either way, there is another, perhaps even more important reason Du Plessis is as successful as he is.

Dricus Du Plessis goes into every fight with a kill-or-be-killed mindset

One of the main differences Du Plessis sees between himself and Strickland is their mindset. Asked about his thoughts on Strickland in a recent interview with Mark Bouris, ‘DDP” felt that Strickland fought to ‘not lose’, which is very different from how he approaches his fights.

“The question that me as a modern-day gladiator has to ask myself: Am I still willing to die? Absolutely, that’s easy. Are you willing to kill a man in front of his family? Yes, I am. And that’s why I’m the world champion because I say yes to answer that question every single time,” Du Plessis declared.

This gladiatorial, kill-or-be-killed mindset, of course, is another reason that the South African is so damn dangerous in the Octagon. If you’re fighting Du Plessis, you know one thing for sure- you’re not getting a respite, not even for a second. His offense-followed-by-offense-followed-by-even-more-offense style is a veritable nightmare to deal with.

The likes of Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, and even Strickland found this out the hard way. Will UFC 312 be different? Well, we’ll find out in a week. What do you think about Dana White’s comments about Dricus Du Plessis’ fighting style?