In the UFC, fighters don’t just compete for themselves and their teams; they fight for their country. When fighters secure a win, it’s not just a personal victory, but the entire nation they represent swells with pride as their skills earn them the belt against opponents worldwide. Now, given the fact that the South African fighter Dricus Du Plessis emerged as the new middleweight champion and arrives in his country for the first time after the title win, he received a warm welcome from the fans as was depicted in an X post.
UFC champion Dricus du Plessis stirred controversy by labeling South Africa’s government ‘the worst in the world.’ This led many African fans to question if he genuinely represents the country, triggering a backlash and apparent fan anger. However, contrary to this perception, videos on the internet have surfaced, depicting the South African fighter receiving a warm and enthusiastic welcome upon landing in his home country.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is back in the country. pic.twitter.com/VFOJlO2WfV
— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) January 25, 2024
In the video, we can see fans cheering from their hearts as he lands home with a belt and flag in his hands. Previously, at UFC 297, when DDP won the fight, fans in his country went bonkers. Now, as he is back, hundreds of fans and media were there to receive their champion after he achieved a feat that really needs years of discipline and hard work to achieve. Meanwhile, he’ll enjoy some time in the country and celebrate before he moves on to the next challenge.
UFC Champ Dricus Du Plessis Targets Israel Adesanya for Next Bout
Du Plessis has many choices for his next matchup, from a UFC rematch with Sean Strickland or potential fights against Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Pereira. But it seems he has only one opponent in his mind. In a post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, he mentioned his next opponent: former rival Israel Adesanya. He stated,
“I saw Alex Pereira get in the cage and I thought, ‘Okay, here we go again, let’s do the face off now and see if I can but it looks like that’s not happening. It was another guy who tried to take my shine, he lost this shine now I have your shine, you didn’t get into the cage tonight. But Israel Adesanya get your a** back in the UFC so we can settle the score.”
For now, he is enjoying his time in South Africa, bringing pride and joy to the whole country after capturing the UFC belt against Strickland. He’ll take some time to recover from the injuries sustained in this fight. Whenever he returns, it will be a spectacular event, as Izzy and DDP already have an intense rivalry between them.
