Dricus du Plessis completed a forgettable weekend for South African sport when he was handed a wrestling lesson in a record on-sided defeat at UFC 319 on Sunday morning (SA time).
Du Plessis, 31, lost his UFC middleweight title in a lop-sided loss to Khamzat Chimaev.
All three judges scored the fight 50-44.
Chimaev landed a UFC record number of strikes and takedowns for a middleweight title fight.
Dricus du Plessis dropped to 23-3 in his career, while Khamzat Chimaev remained undefeated, improving to 15-0.
This weekend also saw defeats by the Proteas and Springboks – both against Australia.
UFC 319 fight card results
- Khamzat Chimaev def. Dricus du Plessis (c) via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-44)
- Lerone Murphy def. Aaron Pico via first-round knockout (elbow)
- Carlos Prates def. Geoff Neal via first-round knockout (elbow)
- Michael Page def. Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Tim Elliott def. Kai Asakura via second-round submission (guillotine choke)
- Baisangur Susurkaev def. Eric Nolan via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Gerald Meerschaert via first-round TKO (punches)
- Loopy Godinez def. Jessica Andrade via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Alexander Hernandez def. Chase Hooper via first-round knockout (punches)
- Drakkar Klose def. Edson Barboza via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29)
- Karine Silva def. Dione Barbosa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Joseph Morales def. Alibi Idiris via second-round submission (triangle choke)
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