Dricus du Plessis is determined to get UFC South Africa: “If I have to wait it out a couple of months, I’m willing to do that”
Middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis badly wants to get the UFC to his home country.
‘Stillknocks’ is fresh off his return to the cage last month at UFC 297 in Canada. There, Dricus du Plessis fought in his first title fight, against middleweight champion Sean Strickland. For ‘Tarzan’, the title defense was his first since capturing the championship with an upset win over Israel Adesanya last September.
In the main event of UFC 297, the two middleweights went to war. After 25 minutes of action, it was Dricus du Plessis who got the judges nod to become champion. Quickly, he called out the former champion, the aforementioned Israel Adesanya, to a fight at UFC 300 in April. However, it seems that he has a new idea.
At the UFC 297 press conference last month, Dana White showed interest in taking the company to Africa. Years ago, they had ‘The Last Stylebender’, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou as champions at one time. All hail from the same continent, which led to the talk of the concept. However, for whatever reason, no UFC Africa card came to fruition.
It seems that Dricus du Plessis is determined to make that idea a reality. Speaking in a recent interview with KFM 94.5, the middleweight champion spoke about bringing the UFC to South Africa. He wants to make it happen and is willing to wait to make it happen.
Dricus du Plessis details plan to bring the UFC to South Africa
“Now we have the belt, so we don’t have to take unnecessary risks.” Dricus du Plessis stated in a recent interview with KFM 94.5. “We want the best fight for me, for South Africa, for the people, the fight people want to see is obviously Israel Adesanya. That’s the fight I want. That is the fight, because that’s going to be the biggest fight the people want to see right now. Other than that, I want to bring the UFC to South Africa. That’s what needs to happen.”
He continued, “That’s legacy. If I have to wait it out a couple of months, I’m willing to do that. Fighting at a big event, that’s one thing. Fighting and defending my belt, that’s one thing. But it’s been done before. UFC on African soil, on home soil in South Africa has never been done. That’s legacy, that’s going to be remembered forever. That’s what we want.”
While Dricus du Plessis wants to face Israel Adesanya in South Africa, ‘The Last Stylebender’ may have other plans. Earlier this week, the former UFC middleweight champion took to social media to tease a return at UFC 300 in April. As of now, who Adesanya could face is unknown, but obviously, the South African would be one of the top choices.
What do you make of these comments from middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis? Do you want to see the UFC hold an event in South Africa later this year?
