Dricus Du Plessis, promoted himself as a legit contender for the UFC middleweight gold with his victory over Rober Whittaker. But the UFC legend, Chael Sonnen, feels that there are a lot of other aspects that maintain Du Plessis’s relevance in the game. In his recent ‘YouTube‘ video, Sonnen talked about how the South African knows several ways in which he can keep the UFC community “interested” in himself.
Most fans may remember that it was Du Plessis’s feud with Israel Adesanya, that got him into the title picture. But they may also agree that it was Du Plessis who ignited the feud after calling himself the real and only African fighter in the UFC. Thereafter, he also put up an incredible performance against Whittaker, attracting more eyes to him.
Sonnen also pointed out that Du Plessis’s “handsome” appearance may not make him look like a “heel”. But the things that he does and says make him a “cool heel”. As per the UFC veteran “cool heel” sells like hotcakes in the combat sports world. ‘The Bad Guy’ also placed Du Plessis along with a few noted personas who had played heels at one time. The list included The Rock, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, and Ric Flair.
Well, Sonnen may not be too wrong in his analysis. ‘Stillknocks’ comes up with several ways of keeping up his relevance in the game and most of them aren’t pretty respectful. The UFC 2024 Seasonal Press Conference held a few days back, showcased Du Plessis’ most heel-like move.
Dricus Du Plessis made distasteful remarks involving the late father of Sean Strickland
The UFC 2024 Seasonal Press Conference also included Du Plessis, along with his upcoming UFC 297 main event rival, Sean Strickland. Although it was Strickland who started taking verbal jibes at Du Plessis, a lot of fans feel that the South African crossed all limits. While firing back at the current UFC middleweight champ Du Plessis irked Strickland. ‘Stillknocks’ pulled in Strickland’s late father and made a rather displeasing remark about him.
It won’t be wrong to say that with these heel tactics, Du Plessis has managed to get into Strickland’s head currently. Fans may remember what happened when the noted UFC icon, Conor McGregor got into then-UFC featherweight champ, Jose Aldo’s head. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that the UFC 297 main event, featuring the scrap between these two, is going to be a huge crowd-puller.
