The rising star of mixed martial arts (MMA), who has just celebrated his thirtieth birthday, is preparing to challenge the American UFC middleweight champion this Sunday morning, to try to take his belt from him. Despite controversial remarks, “DDP” enjoys great popularity within the Rainbow Nation.
4 mins
from our correspondent in South Africa
In a photo that he keeps carefully, Kagiso, wearing sunglasses and a big smile, poses alongside his star, Dricus Du Plessis, with his fist clenched. A photo taken during a tournament organized in the country, and which will perhaps soon be worth gold for this fan since the athlete could become the first South African to be crowned UFC champion if he wins his fight this week-end. “ In my opinion, on paper, he is better than his opponent in all areas: power, striking, wrestling techniques, grappling… It would be a historic turning point and a dream for us, to reach such a peak at within the international MMA community » enthuses this enthusiast, who has followed the evolution of sport in his country for almost twenty years.
Dricus Du Plessis must face Sean Strickland on the night of Saturday to Sunday (3 a.m. UT) at the Scotiabank Arena in the Canadian city of Toronto, for UFC 297 (on Ultimate Fighting Championship American, the most important league in this sport). A fight that promises to be tough, since the American defends his middleweight belt for the first time. But Kagiso will not be the only one to encourage the South African when he enters the octagon, because the athlete now has many supporters at home, and even the world champion rugby players of the Springboks have split a video to encourage him.
Read alsoMMA: South African du Plessis fights in the public with Strickland, his future opponent
Controversial comments
Within the various clubs in the country, such as Quan Wessels north of Johannesburg, we also want to believe in this victory. “ He is well prepared physically, in very good physical shape and he has a relentless approach, he knows how to outrun his opponents » estimates Obakeng Mahura, trainer and amateur fighter. “ I’m sure he’ll win » adds Thimna Mhlauli, who is preparing to fight her first professional fight, « probably around the 4th round, by technical knockout. » Even the former champion of this category of less than 84 kilos, the New Zealander of Nigerian origin Israel Adesanya, went there with his commentary, giving “DDP” victorious against his opponent. It must be said that the South African has shined in the UFC since his entry in 2020, having accumulated six victories in six fights, the last against the Australian Robert Whittaker.
But the character is not without controversy. Usually, it is his rival, Sean Strickland, who plays the role of the anti-hero: emerging from the neo-Nazi movement thanks to MMA, he is known for his madness on the microphone and his explosive character. However, this time, it was Du Plessis who created the controversy by promising, at a press conference, to bring back memories of the American’s battered childhood during the fight. “ It’s part of the show, the fans want to see that, two fighters who have a conflict, then go into the cage to resolve it, and we have a winner! » reacts Thimna Mhlauli. His colleague Obakeng is less convinced: “ I think there is a limit in MMA in terms of provocative remarks, and in my opinion he has crossed it a little. In my opinion, it’s not very good for the sport, when it becomes too personal. » The atmosphere is in any case already electric, since during UFC 296 in mid-December, the two opponents began to fight in the public.
African identity
Du Plessis was also fined for leaving the cage last July to greet former President Donald Trump who was in the audience. But the white South African really hit the headlines last year, declaring that it was him “ the African UFC fighter ”, not Israel Adesanya, Francis Ngannou or Kamaru Usmanwho built their careers outside the continent.
For JT Botha, his training partner, “ he didn’t say that in a malicious way » but wanted to emphasize his pride in “ having stayed in Africa, to train, to build his career and to fight. » The former EFC champion (Extreme Fighting Championship, the South African league) continues to evolve within the CIT club in Pretoria, which also brought out UFC fighter Cameron Saaiman. If he will not be the favorite in front of the crowd gathered in Canada, “DDP” is in any case still very admired in his country, which believes in his dreams when he claims to be “ there to become the best in the world. »
Read alsoMMA: Adesanya, Usman, Du Plessis… contrasting year for African UFC stars