Dricus du Plessis is confident he will get past Khamzat Chimaev and already has plans for what comes next.
The two will headline UFC 319 on August 16 at the United Center in Chicago, with Du Plessis putting his middleweight belt on the line. Many see this as the toughest test yet for the South African champion.
Like Chimaev, ‘Stillknocks’ remains undefeated in the UFC. His success has only added to calls for a long-awaited UFC event in Africa, a dream that continues to gain traction.
Du Plessis has not fought in Africa since 2017, but he has not given up hope of one day defending his title back home while still holding onto his championship status.
Dricus du Plessis hopes to push UFC Africa talks forward after Khamzat Chimaev fight
There are a few champions right now pushing for the UFC to host events in their home countries. Dana White recently shut down Ilia Topuria’s hopes for a card in Spain after he claimed the lightweight title at UFC 317, so Du Plessis will be hoping his own campaign for an event in South Africa gets more traction.
The UFC have never held an event on the continent, and they were beaten to it by the PFL, who staged a card in Cape Town on July 18.
For now, Du Plessis is focused on taking care of business against Chimaev. But if he comes out on top, ‘Stillknocks’ plans to revisit the topic with White.
“The right people were speaking to each other,” Du Plessis told Scott Fontana for the New York Post. “I was involved in these conversations, (but) as soon as this fight was made, my attention shifted to this fight.”
“I know the conversations are there between the UFC and South Africa, and the sports ministers, and the cities, and the arenas – everything is in conversation.”
“But as an update on where we are, I don’t have anything,” Du Plessis added. “That is definitely something that I will get after as soon as I am done after this fight. … The UFC is now massive (in South Africa). The country is so behind the UFC and myself, behind me fighting.”
“(I am) making sure the right people speak to the right people,” he continued. “Almost introducing them to each other – making sure those who need to make it happen are connected with those who can actually pull it off. That’s where I come in.”
After Dricus du Plessis win, UFC official said Africa debut is ‘definitely a 2025 thing’
Du Plessis’ hopes for a UFC event in Africa got a boost following his first title defence last year.
After submitting Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 to solidify his reign, the South African’s calls for an African event were addressed by Dave Shaw, the promotion’s Executive Vice President and Head of International and Content.
“I think we’re probably closer than we’ve been in a while (to doing an event in Africa), and there’s significant interest from a few different countries,” Shaw said during the post-fight press conference.
“The Dricus situation is tough. I mean, he’s a champion, are we going to take a PPV there at the same timezone as the UK (UFC 304 PPV)? We’ve just done the Manchester event, so it’s absolutely possible, but we also want to make a good first impression.
“If we’re coming to continental Africa for the first time, do we want to do an event in the middle of the night? … If Dana wants to do an event for the fans, for the growth of the sport, despite headwinds or challenges operationally – where the event is and what time it’s going to have to be booked – then he’s going to make that decision.
“The short answer is that we’ve got a few different countries that we’re targeting, but this is definitely a 2025 thing, we don’t want to wait much longer,” Shaw said.
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