Dricus Du Plessis plays a great heel. After ‘Stillknocks’ turned down a UFC 293 title shot against Israel Adesanya, and developments after UFC 294, it seemed he will not be fighting for the title so soon at UFC 297. Du Plessis and Adesanya had gotten into an ugly spat after the South African made comments that Izzy saw as questioning his African-ness, culminating in their bizarre, contentious, expletive-laden face-off at UFC 290. However, the #1 ranked middleweight, dealing with an injury, passed up the opportunity to face the Kiwi at UFC 293. Sean Strickland went on to beat ‘Stylebender’ in perhaps the biggest upset in UFC history.

After Paulo Costa pulled out of his UFC 294 co-main event against Khamzat Chinaev, Kamaru Usman moved up a weight class and replaced him on short-notice. To get Usman to agree, the UFC proclaimed that the winner of the fight would get a shot at the middleweight title next. However, due to an injury, ‘Borz’, too was compelled to pass up a title shot against Strickland at UFC 297. And the UFC roped in the #1 ranked Du Plessis, who most fans felt deserved to fight for the title before Chimaev anyways. And as he gears up to face Sean Strickland this Sunday at the Scotiabank arena in Toronto, Canada, let us take a look at who ‘DDP’ is likely to fight after Strickland.

Israel Adesanya in Dricus Du Plessis’ near future

Dricus Du Plessis will fight Sean Strickland for the middleweight title and more importantly, to settle their personal beef at UFC 297 on January 20 in Toronto, Canada. The two men were involved in a heated argument at the UFC 296 press-conference which led to a brawl at the December ’23 event itself. Which is why their bout is expected to be a thriller and unlikely to go the judges scorecard.

If Du Plessis wins the middleweight title on Sunday, he will be expected to face Khamzat Chimaev, the official no. 1 contender, next. Or, the UFC may decide Israel Adesanya, who is due a title rematch and a fight with the South African anyways should fight ‘Stillknocks’ next. However, Adesanya is on hiatus and it is unclear when he will be back in action.

If neither Chimaev, nor Adesanya are available, realistically the next bet seems to be #4 ranked Jared Cannonier, who  has defeated Strickland in a close split decision last year. If, on the other hand, Du Plessis loses to Strickland at UFC 297, the best fight for him would be Israel Adesanya as that fight already has a lot of hype and excitement behind it.

But, ‘Izzy’ will most certainly choose to rematch Strickland for the title first and Du Plessis may have to wait. In that situation, the UFC may choose any ranked opponent for Du Plessis to fight in what would essentially be a tune-up fight for the Adesanya encounter. However, there is another wild card in the mix who may be in the title mix: former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

A dark horse for middleweight title shot

Kamaru Usman, who has said he doesn’t “mind being up at 185”, may face Canonier or #6 ranked Paulo Costa in another #1 title contender bout. Usman, who is coming off consecutive losses to Leon Edwards at welterweight, certainly seems to have better prospects at 185.

Also read: Khamzat Chimaev Put on Alert After Glaring Flaws Against Kamaru Usman as Undefeated Bo Nickal Throws Down Future Challenge

Given his controversial majority decision loss to Chimaev at UFC 294 and good standing with Dana White and the UFC, it may find favour among both the promotion and fans. Who do you think Du Plessis should face after his Strickland fight?

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