Durban teenage MMA prodigy adopts 'messy' Dricus fight style

AMANZIMTOTI teenage MMA fighter Abigail Deneys thinks her messy fight style can take her all the way to the top, just like it did with current South African-born UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis. 

Deneys, 15, just returned from Abu Dhabi where she fought in the World Youth MMA Championship for South Africa in the 77kg class. Deneys won gold by default because her opponent pulled out of the fight. 

"Definitely, having a messy and clumsy fight style can work in your favour...I feel like if it has worked for Dricus then why can’t it work for me." 

Deneys said she was disappointed she didn’t get to throw down in the octagon, a place she’s grown familiar with since joining the sport just under a year ago. Under the careful direction of her coaches, Greg Thomas and Amanda Lino from Bushido Gym in Amanzimtoti, Deneys is hopeful to leave her mark on the sport. 

“I really wish I could have fought in Abu Dhabi because it's not about medals for me. I genuinely enjoy getting into that cage and on the mat and just fighting. I feel like if I got the chance to fight, whether I got the gold or not, I would have been happy. Getting it by default kind of makes me feel like I cheated. 

“I also felt like I was robbed of those small moments with my coaches and teammates. But the experience has taught me that there’s always going to be something that happens that I didn’t want to happen (Murphy’s Law). 

“I think going forward for my next fight I’m going to drop down to the 66kg category and in the future try to go lighter. It was still an honour for me to bring home gold, even if it wasn’t in the way I wanted,” Deneys told Independent Media. 

The Toti’ resident landed in South Africa last night and plans on getting back into the gym soon after she is done sleeping off the jetlag. 

Reaching for the stars

Deneys has admitted that she’s not academically inclined and was always the type to try out a new sport or hobby instead. And now that she’s found one she likes, and has committed to, she plans on giving it a 110% effort. 

In short, she would much rather wake up and choose violence instead of the pen. 

“I don’t really juggle it. I do MMA and school is just kind of there. When school gets hard, I just focus extra on MMA. MMA is my top priority. 

“I definitely want to end up UFC one day but obviously I’m way too young to even think about that right now. I think my short term aim would be to get signed by the EFC but the UFC is definitely a bigger goal. 

“I feel like I can trust my coach to get me there. Especially looking at how far he got me in such a short space of time. One of my other coaches, Amanda Lino, recently fought in the EFC and got a new title. So I feel like Lino and coach Greg will get me far as long as I work hard for it,” Deneys said. 

Messy works, at least for Dricus it does... 

Before Deneys left for Abu Dhabi, she mentioned in the interview that she has a “kind of messy fighting style”. After returning, she said she just may give the messy fight style a go, given how successful Dricus Du Plessis turned out with a similar stance in the ring. 

Du Plessis, in the past three years in the UFC, has defeated the biggest names in the sport when it comes to the Middleweight Class, including Robert Whitaker, Derek Brunson, Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya. All with a “messy” fight style, according to numerous fellow UFC fighters and pundits. 

While the world of UFC has been put off from Du Plessis’s style of fighting, Deneys has embraced it and hopes it can bring her glory in the octagon some day. 

“Definitely, having a messy and clumsy fight style can work in your favour. Your opponent doesn’t know your next move. And I feel like if it worked for Dricus then why can’t it work for me. I’ve made it a bit far already just by getting disqualified and tripping on myself. 

“I think I have to start working extra hard on my ground game. Next year I will be allowed to ground and pound  and that works to a fighter’s advantage when you can’t submit them,” Deneys said.