‘Papa’ Dana White Receives Special Title Request From Ex-contender as UFC 297 Concludes With New Champion

In the space of less than half a year, the UFC middleweight belt has changed hands for the third time. Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, and most recently with his performance at UFC 297, Dricus Du Plessis has held the top spot at 185 pounds. However, as it is said, often defending a belt is more difficult than becoming a champion. For Du Plessis, a plethora of challengers await. Paulo Costa is one among them who took to Twitter to send a message to the new champion.

Dricus Du Plessis made history on Saturday night with his performance at UFC 297. He became the first South African to win a championship in the UFC. However, for Du Plessis and his team, this is the first step in what they hope will be a long reign as the UFC champion at 185-pounds.

Following his win, Dana White posted a clip on Twitter showing Du Plessis’ reaction after the results were read out. Fellow middleweight Paulo Costa replied to the tweet saying,

“Give me him papa”

Give me him papa https://t.co/0Awjjtn9jj

— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) January 21, 2024

Unfortunately for Costa, there are a few names that are more likely to get a title shot ahead of him. ‘Borrachinha’ himself has a tough task at hand less than a month from now. At UFC 298, Costa takes on Robert Whittaker in what he hopes will be his first win since August 2022. If he is able to secure a win against Whittaker, he would have a much better case of asking for a title shot.

However, as things stand, the next title shot at 185-pounds will either be given to Israel Adesanya or Khamzat Chimaev.

Khamzat Chimaev or Israel Adesanya, who will be next for Dricus Du Plessis?

Following his win at UFC 297, Du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya for a fight at UFC 300. However, there are several factors to consider here. UFC 300 takes place in April and it will be an extremely quick turn around for Du Plessis, considering how much damage he suffered on Saturday.

For that to happen, Du Plessis will have to be cleared by the athletic commission as well. In terms of his next opponent, Khamzat Chimaev and Israel Adesanya are the front runners for Dricus Du Plessis.

 

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Unfortunately, Chimaev is ruled out as he is now not allowed to enter the United States at this point in time, given his citizenship and ongoing war with Ukraine. Adesanya, on the other hand, was supposed to be on an extended break from the sport. However, it appears as though Dricus Du Plessis’ win might have lit the fire in him to come back earlier than expected.