Dricus Du Plessis, or DDP, is not familiar with losing and has faltered only 3 times in his 26-fight career. For that, he puts in maximum effort and, if needed, does not hesitate to cut weight.

One of the instances of his transformation is UFC 312, where DDP successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Championship against Sean Strickland on Saturday, February 8, 2025.

But the process was not easy for him because before the match, DDP weighed around 230 lbs and had to cut nearly 45 lbs.

According to Middle Easy, sharing his weight loss struggles, DDP said, “Around 102 -105 kgs. That’s me, like, I would say three weeks after a fight, four weeks after a fight.”

He also said, “Then you’re training, eating whatever you didn’t eat in the last 12 weeks. You’re eating whatever you want, drinking a lot of b**r and enjoying life a little for that period because you have to do that. You have to unwind.”

For many fighters, weight cutting is not easy, though it is very common in combat sports. In this process, fighters lose a lot of weight before weighing in and then dehydrate before a fight.

This is risky because if anyone fails to manage the process properly, it can harm their performance and health.

DDP also described his past weight-loss journey. He said, “When I was 25, 26, you know, my body just became heavier and bigger.”

He added, “So to make that weight, my body fat was like 3%, and I made the weight, but every shot I would take felt like somebody’s hitting me with a baseball bat. That’s it. I said no, I’m not doing this anymore because I’m going to lose unnecessary fights, and it took the joy out of the sport.”

DDP thinks managing rehydration is the key to weight cutting.

DDP said, “We need to get punched in the face. You have to be able to perform at the highest level on earth—cardio-wise, muscle endurance, all of that. The whole body consists of water, so if your brain, I mean, the shots you take, you have to take all that into consideration when you’re cutting this weight.”

Apart from a good approach, diet also played a vital role in DDP’s weight loss.

DDP talked about his balanced diet

On March 18, 2024, DJ Sbu shared a YouTube reel in which DDP discussed his diet approach for weight loss.

He said, “Eating Whole Foods eating, um, making sure you are balanced, getting your, um, a whole balance cuz you know a lot of people would starve themselves in terms of making the weight closer to the fight instead of doing it balanced”.

Apart from that, DDP uses supplements. He believes they add value to his training and nutrition and do not replace real food.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil