Dricus Du Plessis calls his own shots.
That’s why “Stillknocks” turned down a massive middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, and why the South African slugger is prepared to bail on the upcoming UFC 300 pay-per-view (PPV) card — also against Adesanya — until he makes a full recovery from his most recent appearance.
Du Plessis, 30, is just a couple of weeks removed from his title-winning performance against former champion Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto. UFC CEO Dana White has no plans for an immediate rematch, despite the razor-thin decision, and is expected to (eventually) pair “Stillknocks” against Adesanya — who is also recovering from injury.
When and where?
“I have no idea,” Du Plessis told Jacaranda FM. “For me right now, we are still busy with some scans, seeing what we can do in terms of after the fight. Some injuries, can we fight soon, is that a possibility, and all that. We have to make sure the longevity of my career is also taken into consideration. We’ve had a very active last year, year and a half. We rushed to get to this belt, we had to take every opportunity given to us. Right now, we need to be smart and defend this belt when it suits us.”
Du Plessis insists it’s “100 percent” better to skip UFC 300 in favor of a full recovery.
“UFC 300 obviously gonna be a milestone event. I would love to be part of that but not if that means I’m not gonna be fully recovered,” Du Plessis continued. “Defending my title is much more important to me than being on this milestone event. The real milestone event will be UFC in Africa and more importantly, South Africa. I can’t even explain to you how long I’ll be willing to wait to make that happen and defend my belt on home soil. That’s history. UFC 300 is just a number. It’s not as massive as UFC Africa.”
Fortunately for Du Plessis, Adesanya is on board — and has been for quite some time.