Toronto – The new UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis wasted no time calling out who he hopes is his next opponent following his victory at UFC 297 on Saturday night.
“It’s nothing personal. It’s not personal at all. That’s just the fight the fans want to see. I want to fight the best competition,” Du Plessis told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.
“The fans want to see Israel Adesanya versus Dricus Du Plessis. There’s a lot of hype that was already built on it.”
To say it’s not personal with Adesanya might just be on Du Plessis’s side with few of their interactions not ending in the two having words.
Calling out Adesanya doesn’t mean the fight will happen and Du Plessis knows that the fans will decide who is next.
“If the fans go, if there’s some way they start tracking and saying, ‘listen the fans don’t really want to see Adesanya versus Du Plessis’, we don’t do that fight. It’s fine to me. I don’t care who it is, but that’s just the fight on top of my head that I think the people want to see. That’s going to get a lot of people excited,” he said.
Following the victory over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 Du Plessis was asked about a possible head butt that his opponent had complained about on X.
Well fuck haha… man that headbutt really made it difficult to see but I thought we got the job done. Blood and all!!! Onto the next one!!! Thanks everyone who supported me!!!!!!
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) January 21, 2024
“Well f*ck haha…man that headbutt really made it difficult to see but I thought we got the job done. Blood and all!!! Onto the next one!! Thanks everyone who supported me!!!!!!”
Du Plessis had no idea what Strickland was talking about.
“No I can’t say that I did. It’s the first I’m hearing of it. No I didn’t feel a head butt. Did he say I head butted him,” Du Plessis asked.
“No I can’t remember any head butt.”
With the new middleweight champion being from South Africa it seems that now is the time for the UFC to make their way to the country soon.
“It’s going to be now for a long time. I think it’s time. We’ve worked our asses off to get this event to Africa and South Africa. It’s time that happens,” Du Plessis said.
Even while answering the question Du Plessis seemed bothered by something, and he asked the press a question.
“Just for the record is these some people that think I lost the fight,” he asked.
When told that UFC CEO Dana White has said he scored the fight for Strickland the new champion had just one thing to say.
“Dana said it? Well bullsh*t.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Dricus Du Plessis above.
