Ex-Special Forces Officer turned mental coach explains what he saw in Dricus du Plessis from the beginning: “That was part and parcel of his being"

Dricus du Plessis has soared to UFC stardom since making his debut in 2020. The South African's unique fighting style caught the fans' attention immediately, as did his ability to secure victory no matter the momentum of the bout.

Past opponents of du Plessis, such as Robert Whittaker and Sean Strickland, have highlighted the burning desire to win that resides in "Stillknocks". It is a level of competitiveness that, according to Whittaker, is a skill in and of itself.

The man behind the impenetrable mindset of the middleweight champion is an ex-Special Forces Officer for the South African Army, Ian Jansen Van Rensburg.

Jansen Van Rensburg now operates as the mental coach for du Plessis, and was recently interviewed by Hack Check about his work with the 185-pound king. He reflected on what he noticed about du Plessis upon first working together:

"You get a thing like motivation. But as soon as things go bad or get punched in the face, the first thing that goes is motivation... I've seen in Special Forces how necessary necessity is. What is your necessity to be there, stay there, and do what is necessary?"

He continued:

"That's one thing I can say about Dricus, even when we met we spoke about this and I gave him a tick. That was something that was already part and parcel of his being. The only thing I did was to highlight it."

Check out Ian Jansen Van Rensburg discuss Dricus du Plessis below (15:15):

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Dricus du Plessis' 'Mayweather-like' aura could cause Khamzat Chimaev trouble, says ex-UFC champion

Dricus du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland at UFC 312 to defend his title for a second time. He is expected to face the marauding Khamzat Chimaev next, in what could be one of the most electric opening rounds in MMA history.

Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling recently weighed in on the potential matchup during a recent episode of his Weekly Scraps podcast, saying:

"I'm starting to feel like Dricus is the Mayweather of MMA bro of the middleweight division. Like there's just oh like how can you bet against this guy at this point... Khamzat is a bulldozer, but Khamzat's gonna need to get him out of there in the first round. I think if he lets that fight get out of the first that's a bad place to be with a guy like Dricus."

Check out Aljamain Sterling discuss Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev below (17:35):