Dricus Du Plessis wants to make the right decisions in his next moves as the new middleweight champion of the UFC. That includes his return after his successful fight against Sean Strickland and his next opponents.
Du Plessis snatched the belt from Strickland after winning via a split decision at UFC 297. With his win, the MMA world is now asking about the details of his return. And while entering the cage will be exciting due to his new status, “Stillknocks” wants to value his health and the “longevity” of his career over making an early return. According to the fighter, his team is still in the process of assessing the injuries he received last month.
In his past interviews, the South African already discussed the possibility of joining UFC 300, which is just nearly two months away. The event is expected to be historic, making it an enticing card for all UFC fighters. However, as the fighter noted, his main target is the UFC Africa.
“I think UFC 300 is obviously going to be a milestone event,” du Plessis said in an interview on Jacaranda FM. “I think it’s going to be great. Every time you have the UFC 100, UFC 200, and now 300, all of are massive events and the pay-per-views are insane, it’s a massive hype, and I would love to be part of that, but not if it’s going to mean that I’m not going to be fully recovered. Defending my title is much more important to me than being on this milestone event.
“The real milestone event will be UFC in Africa, and more importantly, South Africa. I can’t even explain to you how long I’ll be willing to wait to make that happen and defend my belt on home soil. That’s history. UFC 300 is just a number. It’s not as massive as UFC Africa.”
The 30-year-old is eyeing Israel Adesanya in the said event on his home soil. According to Du Plessis, the fellow African also “wants to make it happen” in the same location. For Du Plessis, his primary choice is “The Last Stylebender,” but this is not a certainty as it would still depend on what MMA fans and the UFC want. Right now, talks about a rematch against Strickland are still going around, and Du Plessis is not backing away from that possibility.
“…I always say, as a champion, you want to give the people the fight they want to see,” said Du Plessis. “For me, that’s the important thing. I want to be champion of the world so I don’t want to pick any fights because there’s going to be an easier fight. If you want to be the best in the world, you have to fight whoever is the next toughest guy in the division. So if the UFC decides they want to do Strickland two, I’m completely happy with that. If the fans say, no, that’s the fight they want, let’s do it…”
