Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal…
Dricus Du Plessis plans on becoming the greatest fighter of all time, and he believes that accomplishing his goal means having to go through the current light heavyweight king, Alex Pereira.
But first, ‘Stillknocks’ has some work to do this Saturday in Sydney.
It will be Du Plessis’ second defense of the middleweight title, the first coming in August when he submitted Israel Adesanya in the fourth round of their UFC 305 headliner.
Du Plessis knows there’s still work to be done at 185
Speaking with McKenzie Pavacich of ESPN MMA, ‘DDP’ made it clear that his goal is to eventually move up and claim the light heavyweight title, but he knows that there is still a lot of work to be done at 185 before he can go asking for a shot at champ-champ status.
“I’m still quite a bit away from actually dominating the division and being in a place where there is no competition left,” Du Plessis said. “I also want to go up and get another belt and, ultimately, be seen as the greatest fighter to ever walk this earth. That is my ultimate goal, and that is what keeps me going.”
If Du Plessis comes out on top in The Land Down Under, he’ll move his record to 9-0 under the UFC banner while simultaneously going two-up on Strickland inside the Octagon.
Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous. Even though he hasn’t competed inside the…
Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous.
Even though he hasn’t competed inside the Octagon in more than three years, McGregor is still arguably the biggest name in all of combat sports. He’s also one of the richest with a net worth reportedly tipping the scales at $180 million.
Unfortunately, the once beloved Irish megastar has seen a lot of fight fans turn their back on him for one reason or another, whether it be his non-stop trash-talking of fighters who actually compete or a plethora of legal issues like the one that found him liable for sexual assault.
But according to reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, much of the vitriol being aimed at the former two-division titleholder these days is nothing more than pure envy.
“Division champion and in an absolute clinical display against Eddie Alvarez,” Du Plessis said during an appearance on Straight Talk with Mark Bouris. “People forget about that immediately now because it’s been a while. The man’s sitting on his yacht, jeez. You know, it’s kind of easy to sit here and judge, but I think everybody’s kind of jealous of that. And yeah, I mean, the man’s done some wild stuff, but that’s a completely different story.
“As for Conor McGregor the athlete, you have to give that man all the respect and thank our fathers for what happened to this sport because of him. I mean, Conor McGregor, there’s a lot of controversy around the man, 100%. But I did an interview a couple of months ago where I said, whether you hate him or love him, you’ve got to respect what the man has done and achieved in this sport.
“People look at Conor McGregor now and say, ‘Oh, he’s done.’ Well, if he is done, good on him. You know, good on him. Because I’ve been a fan of his for a very long time.”
Dricus Du Plessis headlines UFC’s return to Australia
Dricus Du Plessis returns to the Octagon on Saturday, February 8 for his second middleweight title defense at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia. After securing a big win over Israel Adesanya in August, ‘DDP’ will look to once again fend off the man he took the title from, Sean Strickland.
Stillknocks’ will also put his ‘O’ on the line as he rides into The Land Down Under with a perfect 8-0 record under the UFC banner, including wins over Robert Whittaker, Adesanya, and Strickland in his last three outings.
Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous. Even though he hasn’t competed inside the…
Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous.
Even though he hasn’t competed inside the Octagon in more than three years, McGregor is still arguably the biggest name in all of combat sports. He’s also one of the richest with a net worth reportedly tipping the scales at $180 million.
Unfortunately, the once beloved Irish megastar has seen a lot of fight fans turn their back on him for one reason or another, whether it be his non-stop trash-talking of fighters who actually compete or a plethora of legal issues like the one that found him liable for sexual assault.
But according to reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, much of the vitriol being aimed at the former two-division titleholder these days is nothing more than pure envy.
“Division champion and in an absolute clinical display against Eddie Alvarez,” Du Plessis said during an appearance on Straight Talk with Mark Bouris. “People forget about that immediately now because it’s been a while. The man’s sitting on his yacht, jeez. You know, it’s kind of easy to sit here and judge, but I think everybody’s kind of jealous of that. And yeah, I mean, the man’s done some wild stuff, but that’s a completely different story.
“As for Conor McGregor the athlete, you have to give that man all the respect and thank our fathers for what happened to this sport because of him. I mean, Conor McGregor, there’s a lot of controversy around the man, 100%. But I did an interview a couple of months ago where I said, whether you hate him or love him, you’ve got to respect what the man has done and achieved in this sport.
“People look at Conor McGregor now and say, ‘Oh, he’s done.’ Well, if he is done, good on him. You know, good on him. Because I’ve been a fan of his for a very long time.”
Dricus Du Plessis headlines UFC’s return to Australia
Dricus Du Plessis returns to the Octagon on Saturday, February 8 for his second middleweight title defense at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia. After securing a big win over Israel Adesanya in August, ‘DDP’ will look to once again fend off the man he took the title from, Sean Strickland.
Stillknocks’ will also put his ‘O’ on the line as he rides into The Land Down Under with a perfect 8-0 record under the UFC banner, including wins over Robert Whittaker, Adesanya, and Strickland in his last three outings.
Dana White’s goons continue to test his “free speech” limits.
It hasn’t even been a full week since top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight contender, Bryce Mitchell…
Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images
Dana White’s goons continue to test his “free speech” limits.
It hasn’t even been a full week since top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight contender, Bryce Mitchell (No. 13), went viral for claiming that Adolf Hitler — who orchestrated the systematic murder of six million Jews — was a good guy.
Now, Sean Strickland — who rematches Middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, this weekend (Sat., Feb. 8, 2025) at UFC 312 — is getting in on all the awful, censor-free fun.
Indeed, Strickland — who White has already had to defend numerous times for saying really dumb stuff — was in a “joking” mood today at UFC 312 media day (watch it here). And, of course, White’s politically incorrect former 185-pound champion had to share his worthless two cents about the controversy.
He decided to up Mitchell’s awful ante, too.
“I was out filming with Embedded, and they were taking shots of me while riding my motorcycle,” said Strickland, who showed up at the promotional event with a new handlebar-like mustache. “I looked over, and he showed me the video. I had my little scummy mustache and was like, ‘I like this, this represents me.’
“I know I look like I should be going to a [KKK] meeting with Bryce Mitchell, but I don’t share the same values as Bryce Mitchell,” Strickland added, while demonstrating the difference between a Nazi salute and a Black Power salute.
“That’s the thing about Bryce Mitchell — he set the bar real low,” Strickland quipped. “Just got to not go full Third Reich and I’ll be okay. The thing that annoyed me about Bryce is that he f—king apologized. If you’re going to be a piece of s—t, dude, you’ve got to double down and be a piece of s—t.
“But, I want to say one thing in front of the world stage about my boy Bryce, because I want to defend Bryce,” Strickland added. “It’s not that kind of defense — what he said was a little f—ked up.”
Strickland, unfortunately, didn’t stop there. He then attempted to try and understand the warped thought process “Thug Nasty” has about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“I don’t think Bryce is a Nazi,” Strickland stated for reasons still unknown. “I think Bryce is f—king idiot from Arkansas who is not educated. I think Bryce is feeding into the propaganda. How many people actually agree with him? I don’t.
“The facts are these dirty Palestinians are going in and taking a bunch of little kids,” Strickland added. “If some Mexican took my woman, I’m grabbing my gun and going f—king full-send. Man, women, child … full-send. So, while I have this moment, Bryce, you are a f—king idiot. You should not have said that, but he is being radicalized, and people support him.
“We must look at how he went down this path and move forward,” Strickland concluded.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 312 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN2/Disney+/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 312: “du Plessis vs. Strickland 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Everyone loves a good comeback.
Five years ago, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Jimmy Crute was ranked the No. 1 fighter in ESPN’s prestigious ‘Top 2…
Five years ago, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Jimmy Crute was ranked the No. 1 fighter in ESPN’s prestigious ‘Top 25 Fighters Under 25’ and had all of the hype a young fighter could have.
But his hype quickly disappeared. Crute went on to lose three straight fights and was finished in all of them (there was also a draw in there). And in his last outing, after being stopped by Alonzo Menifield (watch highlights), he seemingly retired at 26 when he left his gloves inside the Octagon.
Crute revealed what he was through in a recent interview with ESPN Australia.
“I felt like I kept having one injury after the next. I was never truly injury-free. My mind was very scattered, and I felt like I didn’t really truly know myself,” Crute said. “So, when you’re trying to be someone else in a sport like this, you get found out pretty damn quick. So, now I’m just myself, and that’s all I have to be.”
Crute’s coach, Sam Greco, also detailed what was happening behind closed doors.
“He wasn’t in a good place. To continue and not be in a good place is quite dangerous. It’s dangerous enough as it is. He accepted that and went off,” Greco said. “He went to the dark side for a while then, but again, mental health is a big thing in today’s world. He sourced help, and he’s come back to a family, and he’s enjoying this family environment.”
Now injury-free, Crute returns to active competition at UFC 312 this weekend (Sat., Feb. 8, 2025) against fellow knockout artist Rodolfo Bellatoinside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and is very excited to fight again.
“I’m going to just be happy to be back in the Octagon,” Crute said. “I’m in a really good place now, but I wasn’t beforehand. It was a lot of work to get back here, so I’m going to enjoy every minute of being back in there…I’m going to knock him out. I’m going to go in there and go to war. That’s it.”
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 312 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN2/Disney+/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 312: “du Plessis vs. Strickland 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
Apparently, Dana White’s list of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC does not include Alex Pereira. We’re just…
Apparently, Dana White’s list of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC does not include Alex Pereira.
We’re just as shocked as you are.
During a recent appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, the UFC CEO was asked who he believes is the most dangerous fighter in the UFC right now. While White offered up some notable names like Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, Islam Makhachev, and Ilia Topuria, he shockingly snubbed Pereira, much to the chagrin of fight fans.
@piersmorgan: “Who’s the most dangerous fighter in the UFC right now?”
Dana White: “JON JONES is still the best ever… ISLAM [MAKHACHEV] who is now the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world… ILIA TOPURIA is one of the best of all time. MAX HOLLOWAY is still one of… pic.twitter.com/IfLaEngNzM
“Jon Jones is still the best ever, the best of all time,” White said. “But we have tons of guys that are [dangerous]. Islam [Makhachev], who is now the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. I mean, the list goes on and on. Ilia Topuria is one of the best of all time. Max Holloway is still one of the nastiest guys on the planet. Lots and lots of really tough guys.”
UFC fans slam Dana White’s ‘Most Dangerous’ List
While some fans pointed out that White overlooked names like Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, many were in agreement that ‘Poatan’ should have at the very least been listed among the above names, if not above them.
“Surprised he didn’t mention Alex Pereira in that group,” one user commented. “That’s the only one I’d add to the most dangerous guys in the UFC right now.”
“How did Alex Pereira not pop up in his head during this moment,” another questioned.
“Most dangerous is ‘Poatan’ and Topuria cause they can knock you into another dimension,” a third wrote.
Alex Pereira Goes for his fourth light heavyweight title defense at UFC 313
Pereira, of course, has been on an absolute tear since making his promotional debut just a few short years ago. In just 10 fights inside the Octagon, he’s claimed both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles and earned wins over a slew of former champions, including Sean Strickland, Israel Adesanya, Jan Blachowicz, Jamahal Hill, Khalil Rountree, and Jiri Prochazka twice.
To many, ‘Poatan’ is not just the baddest man in the UFC, but he’s the promotion’s biggest active star. He’s also been a consummate company man, defending his title twice in the span of nine weeks between his appearances at UFC 300 and UFC 303.
He’ll go for a fourth-straight defense on March 8 when he returns to the Octagon for a clash with the division’s top-ranked contender, Magomed Ankalaev, at UFC 313 in Las Vegas.
Dricus Du Plessis thinks all of Conor McGregor’s haters are just jealous. Even though he hasn’t competed inside the…
Apparently, Dana White’s list of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC does not include Alex Pereira. We’re just…
