In 2023, Dricus Du Plessis declared himself the “real African champion,” pointing out that he lives and trains in Africa, unlike Israel Adesanya, who trains in New Zealand. That remark sparked a heated rivalry and added fuel to their August 2024 showdown at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia. ‘Stillknocks’ emerged victorious, submitting the Nigeria-born Adesanya in the fourth round to defend his UFC middleweight title—making history with an all-African championship clash. Now, the stakes are even higher.

The 31-year-old Dricus Du Plessis is set to face Khamzat Chimaev on August 16 at the United Center in Chicago, in what promises to be the biggest fight of his career. UFC President Dana White is likely favoring the bigger draw, Chimaev, thanks to the current pay-per-view model under ESPN. Understandably so, since Chimaev boasts 10 million Instagram followers, while Du Plessis lags with just over a million. But Adesanya isn’t ready to let that narrative dominate, as he shared his prediction for the fight.

“I just think on the ground [Khamzat] will be offensively all over him,” Israel Adesanya said in a YouTube video on his channel. “But Dricus has to be defensively sound to not get submitted or get TKO’ed.” Notably, despite being the reigning UFC middleweight champion, ‘Stillknocks’ enters the fight as the underdog. Yet, Adesanya is confident his fellow African fighter can pull off an upset and inspire 1.55 billion people across the African continent.

“[Khamzat]… going to go after him from the get-go. But ‘DDP,’ I think, can weather the storm and probably finish [Khamzat] later on because if it gets to round three, four, five, it’s going to be a problem,” Adesanya continued. “I say round three or four DDP, but if [Khamzat]’s going to win, it’s going to be in the first round… But I’m going to go with ‘DDP.’” He stressed that it’s vital for the Welkom, South Africa native to remain the middleweight champion, even if the UFC has other plans.

“It’s good if he’s champion. UFC probably wants [Khamzat] to be champion because he is a guy that brings a lot of eyes… But I like having ‘DDP’ as a champion because I think it’s still inspiring to a lot of Africans, especially South Africans,” Adesanya added. ‘The Last Stylebender’ believes Du Plessis, who is the sole African champion in the UFC right now, can achieve what he, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou did for the continent—bringing global attention to African fighters. He concluded his prediction on YouTube, stating, “I’m gonna go Dricus by late TKO.”

However, it’s not just Israel Adesanya who wants to uplift Africa, as Du Plessis plans to take UFC to the continent. 

Dricus Du Plessis wants a UFC event in Africa after beating Khamzat Chimaev

While the 31-year-old is not overlooking Chimaev, the South African middleweight champion has big plans for his future—bringing the UFC to Africa. Since 2017, ‘Stillknocks’ hasn’t competed in his home turf, but hopes the day will come soon enough when he gets to defend his title in front of the people of his homeland.

“The UFC is now massive [in South Africa]. The country is so behind the UFC and me, behind me fighting,” he told The New York Post. Du Plessis is aware that discussions are ongoing between the UFC, South African sports ministers, and local arenas. “I’m making sure the right people speak to the right people, introducing the right people to each other… That is my role,” he said.

Although Chimaev is not someone to scoff at, Du Plessis fully intends to push for the continent’s first UFC event once the fight is over—a milestone the promotion has yet to achieve. 

It appears that despite their issues in the past, their shared African lineage is pushing Israel Adesanya and Du Plessis towards the same goal—uplifting Africa and its people. However, whether Du Plessis remains the champion is yet to be seen. Do you think ‘Stillknocks’ has what it takes?