Dricus du Plessis Teammate “Wasn’t Shocked” He Finished Former Alex Pereira Foe Faster Than ‘Poatan’

Alex Pereira has a run of emphatic finishes that looms large over many in the sport. But a teammate of Dricus du Plessis was able to finish a prior ‘Poatan’ opponent even more succinctly than the Brazilian KO artist.

Mark Hulme is that fighter in question, and this fact was covered during an appearance on Bowks Talking Bouts ahead of his recent contest at Oktagon 74. Dricus du Plessis‘ Team CIT compatriot debuted with Oktagon MMA by battling Andreas Michailidis at Oktagon 67 and submitted him in the opening frame of their fight.

When asking if that was the perfect way to debut under that promotional banner by besting such a highly touted opponent, Hulme said,

“In many ways, it was the perfect opponent. It was the most perfect time but it was also very imperfect in the sense of I tore my lats about two weeks before the fight. I went to a doctor, they said nothing much we can do.”

“I told him, “Just keep quiet. I don’t want you to tell anyone. If you tell anyone, they’re going to stress. They’re going to stress me out. I’m going there to do business. Yeah, getting it done in the first round with a torn lat was quite a highlight for me.”

Alex Pereira’s fight against Andreas Michailidis compared to Mark Hulme’s

Alex Pereira fought Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268 in November 2021 and finished the fight with a spectacular flying knee KO at the 0:18 mark of the second stanza.

“I’ll be honest with you, it felt amazing. But I wasn’t shocked. I wasn’t surprised. This is quite literally my life. It’s not a job. It’s somewhat of a career, you could say. But this is my lifestyle, bro. If I could fight every day and not go to jail, I probably would.”