UFC 305 Countdown shows Dricus Du Plessis’ coach using an electric ‘stun baton’ to shock bad habits out of his fighters

As fans Countdown to the main event of UFC 305 next weekend, the global MMA community is ‘shocked’ by a clip showing Dricus Du Plessis’ coach using an electric stun baton on his athletes.

Yesterday, the official UFC 305 Countdown documentary was uploaded to the UFC YouTube channel and fans were quick to take issue with one rather unusual and controversial training method implemented at CIT Performance Institute: the gym where champion Dricus Du Plessis hones his skills.

Photo by Will Russell/Zuffa LLCUFC 305 Countdown shows Du Plessis’ unusual training methodDricus Du Plessis is set to defend his middleweight title against former champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 305 next weekend, but there’s one clip from the new Countdown documentary that is already ‘doing the rounds’ more than any other on social media.

In the video, head coach Morne Visser was shown to be using an electric ‘stun baton’ (not a taser, as the MMA subreddit pointed out) on the feet of his athletes as a way to prevent bad habits from sneaking their way into training.

“So, think about why you’re going to get tased; all of you think about it,” Visser yelled across the training room, giving the stun baton a little test for the cameras as he somewhat maniacally noted, “This is my assistant coach.”

“If they f*** up, I help them fix the problem. This is fixing the problem… [If he’s] not on his toes, not picking up his hands, not kicking when he needs to, so I’ll fix it here [with this].”

Du Plessis himself described the tactic as “a very cool mental note” to reminds him what not to do in a fight, adding that using the stun baton “works a lot better than a sticky note.

“Not only has Morne Visser helped me evolve and polish me as a fighter, without him I wouldn’t be here. He’s been the only MMA coach that I’ve ever had, he always says ‘Train hard and fight easy’.

“If you are going to train for that guy, you’ve got to be a certain type of person… There’s not one person on earth who can get me ready for a fight like him.”

Who is Dricus Du Plessis? Meet the UFC brawler putting South Africa on the MMA mapDu Plessis’ secret to success is finding the right case studyWhilst the electric stun baton training technique is, thankfully, unlikely to catch on in many other MMA gyms around the world, the CIT team also prides itself on being students of the game.

“Israel Adesanya is an incredible fighter; I think he’s probably one of the best to ever do it,” hailed the 185lb South African champion, explaining how “I’ve studied him [from] even before the UFC to see what I need to do to be the best and what I need to do to beat the best.”

“For every fight, we do a specific preparation,” added coach Visser, as he broke down the expected gameplan from ‘The Last Stylebender’ in Perth.

“For Izzy, you’re guaranteed that there’s going to be a lot of kicks, a lot of punches, a lot of speed, very evasive and not easy to catch – one of the best fighters in the world, ever to fight in the UFC, until Dricus arrived.

“We haven’t shown them anything yet, and that’s what they can’t figure out – we’ve got a different gameplan for every fight.”

Ultimately, many within the MMA community predict that Du Plessis will have to employ his superior wrestling and grappling if he is to leave Australia with his shiny gold belt still draped over his shoulder.

2.0 VERSION: Israel Adesanya says UFC 305 is the first time that he’s ‘lived like a proper athlete’

Yet with the South African team studying so many facets of the game, Visser teased that it doesn’t matter whether the fight remains standing or on the ground; it’s ‘Stillknocks’ and ‘Still’ come August 17.

“I see Dricus beating Izzy wherever we decide to, if it’s stand up, in the kicking, in the clinch, in the wrestling, or on the floor… He’s got no chance.”

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