Dricus Du Plessis Unexpectedly Roasted in Dana White’s $1.7 Billion Tie-Up for UFC

The UFC’s return to mainland China for the first time since the pandemic proved to be a successful one, despite the main event featuring a native fighter suffering a defeat. For Dana White, a visit to China involved a brief tour, during which he met and interacted with people and even robots. These are the same robots that have gone viral on the internet for their fighting skills, one of whom even tried to attack the UFC CEO, though it was all in jest. The fighting robots even impressed a Hall of Famer, who made a light-hearted comparison of the machines to former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.

Prior to UFC 319, Dricus du Plessis was a confident man who claimed to have prepared well for Khamzat Chimaev‘s wrestling and ground game. Dricus’s coach even put a $10K price on the line for anyone who could take the champion down in the gym. Well, that didn’t make any difference, did it? Regardless, his rise in the UFC has been an interesting one, since he doesn’t really have the best technique when it comes to striking, but Michael Bisping, who watched the footage of Dana White‘s interaction with the robots, created by a $1.7 billion tech company, Unitree Robotics, claimed those machines had better technique than the South African star. Ouch!

“It’s Dana White getting attacked by robots in China… Roll the tape. Let’s have a laugh. This is crazy that they’ve come to this… Look at the footwork [of the robot]… he’s got better footwork than Dricus du Plessis. [laughs hysterically],” Michael Bisping remarked on the Believe You Me podcast. This invited a huge laugh from Paul Felder. “Joke, Dricus, if you see this, it’s a joke. That is wild, man. Look at the way it switches stances back. That’s cool as hell, man. That’s cool as hell,” Bisping clarified.

Michael Bisping wasn’t necessarily taking a swipe at Dricus du Plessis because the robots really surprised him with their moves. Furthermore, UFC China is deep into robotics, and they’ll likely be a big part of UFC’s performance institutes and training camps in the future. On the other hand, there’s a real curiosity among fans about what lies ahead for the South African star. While he hasn’t yet said anything about his next fight, an MMA legend has put forth a name for the former UFC champion.

MMA legend wants Dricus du Plessis to fight a former title contender

Dricus du Plessis recently got called out by Paulo Costa, who won his last fight at UFC 318. “Dricus is fresh from [losing] the belt. That would be a great fight,” ‘Borrachinha’ said during an interview. Guess what? MMA legend Chael Sonnen is all in on this idea, claiming that Costa made a valid callout. He believes this fight suits Dricus du Plessis very well, and this is the only fight that makes sense.

“I love it. I love the matchup. By the way, this is Paulo Costa’s callout, but I feel like he nailed it,” the UFC Hall of Fame legend stated on his YouTube channel. “Tell me a better fight for Dricus. In some ways, that is the perfect opponent for Dricus. Dricus is the perfect opponent for Paulo Costa… “I just get that one [fight].”

Well, it’s been just a few weeks since Dricus du Plessis dropped the belt, so it will be a while before we get to know what’s next for him. Perhaps he needs a couple of wins to get back in the title picture, but who do you think he should start that journey against? Give us your pick in the comments section below.