How Good Is Dricus Du Plessis at Jiu Jitsu

What Belt Is Dricus Du Plessis in Jiu Jitsu

Du Plessis does not hold a publicly announced Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt. His formal rank is in striking disciplines, not BJJ. What he does have is a long running training relationship with Niel Geyser, a third degree BJJ black belt who coaches the grappling program at CIT Performance Institute in Pretoria.

That means his BJJ has been developed by a legitimate black belt across more than a decade of training, even if the paper rank is not public.

Submitting an Entire Gracie Barra Team

The clearest single proof of Du Plessis’ grappling level came in a Submission Kings event in South Africa, where Team CIT faced Gracie Barra Illovo in a team grappling format. Du Plessis personally submitted every member of the Gracie Barra team in sequence, a result that is very hard to achieve at any level of grappling.

Whatever his belt colour, that result is a black belt level performance against a room full of legitimate BJJ practitioners.

How Du Plessis’ Jiu Jitsu Shows Up in the Octagon

Du Plessis’ UFC middleweight title run featured several moments where the fight that looked unwinnable became winnable once he put it on the mat. Against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 he wore him down and found a back take and rear naked choke in the fifth round. Against Robert Whittaker he finished the former champion with a submission in the fourth round of a close fight. Against Sean Strickland in his first title fight the grappling phases tilted his way repeatedly.

His title loss to Khamzat Chimaev was a grappling defeat to a more credentialed BJJ black belt, which is not a referendum on his jiu jitsu. Chimaev does that to almost everyone.

The CIT System and Niel Geyser

Niel Geyser is one of South Africa’s most credentialed BJJ black belts and has been Du Plessis’ grappling coach for most of his MMA career. CIT Performance Institute is co-owned by Du Plessis with JT and Claudia Botha and has produced multiple UFC caliber fighters.

The Verdict on Dricus Du Plessis’ Jiu Jitsu

The belt rank is not the story. The story is a UFC champion who has been training with a third degree BJJ black belt for years and can tap an entire Gracie Barra team in an open event. His cage grappling has submitted two former middleweight champions in title fights.

Our rating, 7 out of 10. Higher than his formal paperwork suggests, held below the Chimaev and Oliveira tier because his belt rank has never been formally announced and he lost the grappling battle in his loss of the belt.

Part of our ongoing series ranking the BJJ of every notable UFC fighter and BJJ practicing celebrity. See the full Fighter BJJ Profiles index.