“Stillknocks” is down for UFC 300.
Dricus Du Plessis made UFC history at UFC 297 last night on ESPN+ PPV (Sat., Jan. 20, 2024) when he became the first South African champion as he defeated Sean Strickland via a very close split decision (check the scorecard) from inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (watch highlights).
Of course, while Du Plessis most likely wants to chill and celebrate his historic win for a couple of days, his next title defense might be in three months at UFC 300 if he wants it … and he revealed it does sound awesome.
“I mean, I’m pretty banged up right now. I don’t feel like- listen, I’m up for another round if they want to go right now. But yeah, I don’t want to put a timeline on it. But UFC 300 sounds amazing,” Du Plessis told reporters during the UFC 297 post-fight press conference (watch here).
If the new Middleweight champion does want to turn around and fight quickly, there is one man he has his eyes set on: Isreal Adesanya.
“It’s nothing personal. It’s not personal at all. That’s just the fight the fans want to see,” Du Plessis said. “I want to fight the best competition. There’s a lot of guys I’m going to be fighting but the fans want to see Israel Adesanya versus Dricus Du Plessis. There’s a lot of hype that was already built on it…that’s just a fight on top of my head that I think the people want to see, and that’s going to get a lot of people excited.”
The new Middleweight champion is correct; he and Adesanya already have a lot of hype (and some bad blood). And the story is already written … it just needs to be finished.
It all comes down to whether Du Plessis is medically cleared for UFC 300 in April and if Adesanya wants to return from his mysterious break.
Nevertheless, Du Plessis is riding a nine-fight win streak and is 7-0 inside the UFC.
For complete UFC 297 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
