Dricus du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland by split decision to win the middleweight title
The South African suffered some damage in five rounds, but could return in April.
He is looking forward to fighting Israel Adesanya on the historic UFC 300 card in Las Vegas.
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Dricus du Plessis has talked up the idea of a big showdown with Israel Adesanya at UFC 300 in April.
The South African became the first man from his country to win a UFC title this weekend, beating Sean Strickland by split decision in Toronto.
And at the post-fight press conference, attention quickly turned to what could be next for Du Plessis, who remains undefeated since joining the UFC.
When asked if he would be interested in facing former champion Adesanya at UFC 300, he responded: “I’m ready for another round if they want to go.” Yeah, I don’t want to put a timeline on it, but UFC 300 sounds amazing.”
He went on to say that he needed some time to recover after the five-round brutality with Strickland.
Dricus du Plessis claimed the UFC middleweight title by beating Sean Strickland
Israel Adesanya could be in line for the next opportunity and spoke of a possible confrontation
He said: ‘A little damage? Do you remember how handsome he was before this fight?
‘Now I look like a cauliflower. I’m pretty beat up right now.
Du Plessis and Adesanya previously traded barbs, with the South African claiming he would be a true African champion, who lives, breathes and trains in Africa, unlike Adesanya, who was born in Nigeria before moving to New Zealand.
On Saturday he distanced himself from any animosity, saying: “It’s nothing personal.” It is not personal. That’s just the fight fans want to see.
‘I want to fight against the best competition. There are a lot of guys I’m going to fight, but the fans want to see Israel Adesanya against Dricus du Plessis. There is a lot of hype that has already been generated about it.
“If the fans, somehow, start to push back and the fans really don’t want to see Adesanya, we don’t do that fight.
‘Okay for me. I don’t care who it is. But that’s just the fight I have in my head and I think people want to see and it would excite a lot of people.”
Adesanya took to YouTube to respond to Du Plessis’ performance against Strickland, saying, “He used it.” [his wrestling] in the end, which was smart of him to steal the rounds…
‘By my estimation from seeing this [rounds] he took three, four, five and is now the fourth African champion in UFC history.
Khamzat Chimaev criticized Du Plessis after Saturday night’s big win in Toronto.
Du Plessis wants to return to action at UFC 300 on the historic card on April 13
“So congratulations to you, my African brother, Dricus du Plessis… I’m actually really happy for him, I actually like his story and all that, but he still did what he did, and I’m still going to give him a try little more”. **.’
She also posted on Instagram: ‘I never stole the glitter. I never lost mine!! This arc of my story was written a long time ago. Our paths are destined to cross again. Stay tuned for the next episode, thanks for watching. We write history.’
One man Du Plessis did not consider as a possible next opponent is Khamzat Chimaev.
The undefeated Chechnya-born star tweeted: “See you soon biplisi ufc300.”
Du Plessis was asked about it and replied: ‘Yes, but he said that to Jon Jones. Who takes that guy seriously?