Dricus Du Plessis has made an interesting revelation about the potential plans for him to secure the rare, ‘champ-champ’ status in the UFC. The South African won the 185-lbs title by defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January this year. While the fight was a closely contested affair, ‘Stillknocks’ won the split decision and became the first UFC champion from South Africa and also earned the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus for the clash.

However, his first title defense is yet to be confirmed as there have been rumors about a clash between him and Israel Adesanya at the UFC 305 event in Perth, Australia. Another layer to the middleweight title picture is the upcoming number one contender clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker. As such, Du Plessis has revealed that while he remains focused on the middleweight division for now, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of challenging Alex Pereira for his UFC light heavyweight crown in the future!

Dricus Du Plessis shares conditions behind his plans for becoming ‘champ-champ’

In his appearance on ‘The Sias Du Plessis Show’, UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis revealed that while the ‘double-champ’ status is something that he is “100%” interested in, he feels like he still has some business to take care of before he decides to move up to 205 lbs.

He stated, “Because then if you look at the greats, the boogeyman everybody seems to be scared of in Khamzat, I’d love that fight. Fighting Izzy, beating Izzy, one of the best middleweights to ever do it and beating Robert Whittaker, one of the other best middleweights, that earns you that spot.”

While he already holds a win over Robert Whittaker as he had knocked out the former champion at UFC 290 in the second round of their fight, he has yet to face Chimaev or Adesanya inside the Octagon. But in a recent tease on X, ‘Stillknocks’ has hinted that he has agreed to a fight date and location, and is waiting for a confirmation. He stated, “I’ve agreed to the opponent and location so what are we waiting for ?”

This aligns with his statements from ‘The Sias Du Plessis Show’ where he had further revealed, “…for now my focus is 100% on that middleweight division and my next fight, which in all likelihood will be Israel Adesanya and that’s where all my focus is.”

As for his light-heavyweight title aspirations, Du Plessis stated, “…obviously that’s in the trajectory for me, but none of the other plans can come together without this”, indicating that once he has established himself as the middleweight champion with a few defenses under his belt and settled the score with Adesanya, then he will focus on the challenge of taking on ‘Poatan’!

As he continues to navigate the middleweight landscape, Dricus Du Plessis’s aspirations of becoming a ‘champ-champ’ in the UFC hinge upon his next few fights in the 185 lbs division. However, ‘The Reaper’ isn’t pleased with the on-goings in the division he once ruled over! 

‘The Reaper’ isn’t happy with the possibility of Adesanya and Du Plessis fighting for the title

Robert Whittaker will be taking on the dangerous Khamzat Chimaev at the upcoming UFC on ABC 6 card that will mark the promotion’s first foray into Saudi Arabia. The bout is set to be a title eliminator between the two middleweights but Whittaker isn’t pleased with Israel Adesanya with the prospect of his rival securing a title shot.

In an episode of his MMArcade podcast, Whittaker stated “Adesanya fighting for a title again hurts me. But I understand. Dricus asked for it. He’s the champ, [he] gets what he wants.”

With a history with both ‘Stillknocks’ and ‘The Last Stylebender’, Whittaker holds a unique perspective on the clash between the two as he further went on to state that despite his issues with the bout, he still thinks that it’ll be an “interesting fight”.

As Du Plessis and Whittaker navigate their respective paths in the middleweight division, the landscape of the 185 lbs division continues to evolve. With spectacular potential clashes on the horizon, including a highly anticipated bout between Du Plessis and Adesanya, fans can expect thrilling matchups and compelling narratives to unfold in the coming months!

Do you think Dricus Du Plessis will be able to defend his belt against Israel Adesanya? And will Robert Whittaker survive ‘Borz’s onslaught? Share your thoughts in the comments below!