Dricus Du Plessis won the middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 297 and announced that he was willing to fight at UFC 300. However, soon, the new middleweight crown turned around on his promise and said he’d much rather focus on UFC Africa and told his fans that he had a challenger in mind too.

Now, months later, it looks like Dricus Du Plessis has recovered from the epic brawl that was his battle against Sean Strickland. The UFC 297 main event ended with DDP as the first South African UFC champ. So, who’s next?

Dricus Du Plessis to seek out the former champion

There was once a time when everyone had their eyes peeled on the middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya. Now, he’s no longer the champion but with Dricus Du Plessis calling for a bout, perhaps he has a chance to get back in the saddle and go to Africa. Here’s what he said about it on his Instagram handle.

“Looks like someone wants another beating in Aus.. I’m in, I also wouldn’t want to fight the king of Africa on home soil. Manifestations working good for you AGAIN!”

In fact, Du Plessis just announced that he’s ready to take on Adesanya even in Australia if he so wishes. Regardless, it would appear that he’s finally made up his mind. Meanwhile, Adesanya is still away from the cage and his training videos keep surfacing every once in a while.

Their bout could go down at UFC 305, would you be willing to watch it? Both the fighters have had their short-lived rivalry before. This was right before Strickland caused the major upset clinching the title away from Adesanya. There was a lot of heat between the two for having African heritage.

Adesanya is “100%” for it all

Recently, MMA journalist and personality, Ariel Helwani revealed that Israel Adesanya is a “100%” in to fight Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title. This, however, is in a little bit of contrast from what he told the world earlier. The former champ lost his title to Sean Strickland and stepped away from the cage.

Also Read: Israel Adesanya’s Advice to Jamahal Hill Backfires as Fans Ruthlessly Troll UFC 300 Headliner – “Getting Slept by Alex [Pereira]

In a video on his own YouTube channel later on, he would tell the world that for now, he’s stepping back and would rather comeback for something that’s just a little interesting to do. However, he did not suggest anything about seriously going for the belt right away.

Is it the callout from Dricus Du Plessis that has worked its wonders in awakening ‘The Last Stylebender’ from his slumber? Or is it his motivation that has somehow come back? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Also Read: UFC News: Snubbed for Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland Puts Dana White on Notice After Dricus Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Confirmation