Following his split-decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297, the new Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis of South Africa took to the mic to discuss his victory and his potential meeting with a current rival. With UFC 300 just around the corner, we could see the previous meeting with him and Israel Adesanya come to fruition. Check out our UFC news for more updates and breaking content!

When asked about the possibility of fighting at UFC 300, Dricus Du Plessis had to acknowledge the number Sean Strickland did on his face. However, he feels rather healthy and while he'll need some time to relax and heal up, the prospect of fighting at the UFC's biggest event yet “sounds amazing” to the new Middleweight Champ.

When asked about Israel Adesanya as his opponent specifically, Du Plessis kept it all business.

“It's nothing personal. That's just the fight the fans want to see. I want to fight the best competition, but the fans want to see Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis. I don't care who it is, but that's the fight on the top of my head that I think the fans want to see.”

Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis first met in the cage back in July 2023 when the two argued over which one of them had the stronger South African roots. Israel Adesanya is Nigerian, but lives and trains out of his adopted home of Auckland, New Zealand. Du Plessis lives and trains in his home of South Africa, so his argument was that he would eventually become to first “true” champion from South Africa.

The two were slated to meet in September, but a foot injury forced Du Plessis out of the title bout. Queue Sean Strickland's improbable upset at UFC 293 and Dricus Du Plessis' eventual capture of the title last night at UFC 297, and we're right back where we started with a possible matchup between Du Plessis and Adesanya for the middleweight strap.

Dana White has been long discussing the eventuality of UFC South Africa and the promotion has been laying roots in the region for years. When asked if Dricus Du Plessis could be the fighter to headline the event, White said he “absolutely, positively can be the guy.”

All in all, the Middleweight Division got a whole lot more interesting on Saturday night and we're excited to see what matchups the UFC has in store for 2024.