In one of his most popular interviews ever, Dricus Du Plessis had claimed that the version of Conor McGregor who displayed a perfect clinical performance against the then-lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, would’ve defeated Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The reigning UFC middleweight champion is a huge “Notorious” fan. Du Plessis has also frequently expressed his desire to move up a weight class to be a double champ, a feat first achieved by “The Mystic Mac” in the UFC.
Despite the gradually heating rivalry with Alex Pereira, “Stillknocks” believes in making at least three title defenses against rising contenders like Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov in the middlweight division. On the other hand, McGregor moved up to lightweight without ever defending his featherweight belt, a trend which fans call out quickly now a days.
In an interview with Shadow Banned back in April 2024 , Du Plessis had said:
“He deserved to go up there because he absolutely made That look easy against Alvarez. One of the best performances at the highest level, I’ve seen in my whole life.”
He had further added:
“His fight against Alvarez. I mean, I was already a professional long time then and I mean everybody, you look at that fight it was Flawless. He didn’t do anything wrong. He fought one of the greatest fighters in the world and he made him look like an amateur. Conor McGregor, as a favorite fighter, I said Gilbert Burns one of my favourite fighters, and so is Conor.”
When asked whether the 2016 version of McGregor who fought Alvarez woould’ve given Nurmagomedov more problems, the 31-year-old replied:
“I think he beats Khabib.”
It is safe to assume that Du Plessis still holds high regard for everything McGregor has achieved inside the Octagon. In his recent interviews with Mark Bouris, he yet again praised the former UFC double champ for introducing mental warfare to fighting and elevating the overall pay scale of mixed martial arts athletes worldwide.
As of now, the South African is all set for his upcoming rematch against Sean Strickland this Saturday night at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.