Dricus du Plessis' style "looks erratic" but is "very calculated," says MMA coach as he reveals method to disrupt middleweight champion's rhythm 

Xtreme Couture head coach Erick Nicksick recently broke down Dricus du Plessis' fighting style. While du Plessis undoubtedly has an awkward style, Nicksick believes the middleweight champion has a method to his madness.

As he coached against du Plessis twice while cornering for Sean Strickland, Nicksick found out the middleweight champion is a "calculated" fighter, contrary to popular perception of him being "erratic."

On the recent episode of Tim Welch's Red Hawk Recap on YouTube, Nicksick claimed that du Plessis had grown leaps and bounds from his early UFC fights to now. Here's what the MMA coach said about 'Stillknocks':

“People think it looks erratic, but it's not. It's very calculated at what he's trying to do. A lot of his switch stance series stuff, he'll drop step to southpaw, and it's pretty easy reads... You know, it's a lot of those same, same reps and things like that that he does, but there's a motion to him that's a herky-jerky kind of hard to gather rhythm off of."

He added:

"There's a motion to him that's a herky-jerky kind of hard to gather rhythm off of, very similar to Sean, but a different style, right? Like, Sean’s hard to get a read on, but that was the same thing that I think what made Dricus and Sean a great matchup. But how do you eliminate all that sh*t? You take a guy down, put him on his f**king back."

Check out Eric Nicksick's comments about Dricus du Plessis below (31:30):

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Sean O'Malley's coach previews Dricus du Plessis' next fight

Although not officially announced, undefeated phenom Khamzat Chimaev will likely fight champion Dricus du Plessis next for the middleweight title. Chimaev last fought at UFC 308, submitting former champion Robert Whittaker in the first round.

On the same podcast, Sean O'Malley's head coach, Tim Welch, revealed his excitement for the matchup between du Plessis and Chimaev. Moreover, he also gave a prediction for the bout, saying:

"I'm so curious to see how Khamzat and DDP plays out. I feel like DDP, with his shoulders, he's got a smaller neck. I feel like he's going to be able to weather the storm the first two rounds and then start taking off in the third, the fourth, the fifth, taking over." [30:38]

When Welch asked what his guest, Eric Nicksick, thinks about the matchup, the Xtreme Couture coach replied that he feels the same.