History is beckoning for South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis who will look to claim gold in this weekend’s upcoming UFC, which will make him the first South African mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter to hold a title belt at the prestigious UFC level.
Du Plessis is facing rival Sean Strickland for the middleweight championship in the main event of UFC 297 in Ontario, Canada, on Sunday morning.
While Strickland caused a major upset when he defeated Israel Adesanya in September last year to claim the middleweight strap, Du Plessis is unbeaten in the UFC since his series debut in October 2020.
The 29 year old from Pretoria has racked up six successive wins to become the top contender in the division.
Du Plessis and Strickland have controversially already come to blows, on the sidelines of UFC 296 in Las Vegas last month.
‘Stillknocks’, as Du Plessis is often referred to, believes the fact that he triggered Strickland plays into his advantage.
“I can’t believe how easy it was to mentally trigger him. I thought Sean Strickland, he’s just bashing everybody around, about everything on everybody, and one little sentence and the man loses his mind. Shows you how easily mentally he’ll be broken.”
Meanwhile, South African fans and celebrities have wished Du Plessis all the best, with the Springboks also coming to the fore to wish him luck:
Good luck @dricusduplessis – wys hulle wat ons weet! 🤝🇿🇦@SuperSportTV #UFC297 #Springboks #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/5ZroYtriNV
— Springboks (@Springboks) January 17, 2024
Dis amper tyd!! @dricusduplessis
Kyk UFC 297 op 21 Jan in Engels, Afrikaans en Xhosa komentaar op @SuperSportTV #geesweeties pic.twitter.com/9IIkX5ZyVZ
— Radioraps (Rikus de Beer) (@RadioRaps) January 10, 2024
My fellow South Africans 🇿🇦
What time are we waking up for @dricusduplessis Vs @SStricklandMMA ?
Because we need some patriotism after it got taken away by Bafana Bafana. pic.twitter.com/eGtkH4PcrF
— Nick 🦒 Holden (@HoldenZA) January 17, 2024
DDP is putting in the extra work ahead of #UFC297 🇿🇦
Ready for his first five round fight, @DricusDuPlessis is for his shot to become the first South African UFC Champion
[ LIVE on ESPN+ PPV | 10pmET/7pmPT ] pic.twitter.com/mJDCk2zHaG
— UFC (@ufc) January 16, 2024
How to watch:
SuperSport is gearing up for this historic moment and for the first time will have commentary in three South African languages, English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa.
The fight will be available to DStv Compact and Access customers in South Africa on SuperSport Variety 4, channel 209.
UFC 297 – 21 January:
- 03:00 to 05:00 – Prelims
- 05:00 to 09:00 – Main Bouts
You don’t want to miss #UFC297 when Dricus Du Plessis challenges Sean Strickland for the middleweight title 🔥
Perhaps we’ll see a UFC event on African soil soon? 👀#DricusDuPlessis #SeanStrickland pic.twitter.com/GxQtPYpQDO
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) January 16, 2024
