Incredible moment MMA fighter gives mouthpiece back to opponent before beating the hell out of him

An MMA fighter generously gave his opponent his mouthpiece back before laying into him with punches in some quite remarkable footage.

Dricus Du Plessis, who now competes for UFC in the middleweight decision, got his opponent in the ground and pound position on the canvas.

He was in the mount and looking to finish the fight. But he spotted that the other fighter's mouthguard had fell out during their grappling.

Being a good sport and someone who is about fairness and respect, Du Plessis grabbed the mouth protector and put it back in for his rival.

Once he saw he was good to go, the South African returned to beating the living daylights out of him.

We've seen it happen before where an opponent has capitalised on a mouthguard falling out but the actions from Du Plessis appear to be a rarity and have resulted in him going viral on social media.

Nicknamed 'Stillknocks', Du Plessis was a champion in both the middleweight and welterweight divisions in Extreme Fighting Championship.

Image: Alamy

The 28-year-old also became the welterweight champion in Polish MMA promotion KSW and has only suffered two defeats in his 20-fight career.

He debuted in UFC in October 2020 and made easy work of Markus Perez, knocking him out in the first round in Abu Dhabi.

He went a round further with Trevin Giles but scored a second knockout via punches once again at UFC 264, earning a Performance of the Night bonus.

Image: Alamy

Du Plessis went the distance with Brad Tavares at UFC 276 but emerged victorious via unanimous decision.

And in December, the 6ft fighter recorded the most impressive win of his UFC stint so far when he submitted Darren Till in the third round of their clash at UFC 282.

Now tenth in the UFC middleweight rankings after four straight wins, he is scheduled to face Derek Brunson in his next bout on March 4 at 285.