Oklahoma City — Former middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis returned to the win column at UFC Oklahoma City in a Fight of the Night-winning performance against Kamaru Usman.
It was DDP’s first action since losing his title to Khamzat Chimaev last year, and the belt has since switched hands already. That, after Chimaev was upset by Sean Strickland just a few months back.
That has Du Plessis (24-3) open to fighting either Strickland (who he already has two wins over) or Chimaev, saying “absolutely” to both fights while speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press on Saturday.
“Stillknocks” also touched the on rivalry he’s had with fellow Africans Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman. The “beef” all kicked off a few years back ahead of Du Plessis’s bout with Adesanya, when he proclaimed that he was the first “real” African champ, because the others did not live on the continent.
“My man, I think it’s all respect. With me and Izzy, that whole thing got out of context. I think we have so much respect for each other after sharing the octagon,” Du Plessis said on Saturday. “I have respect for any man. After being in there with Usman tonight for five rounds, that man deserves all the flowers in the world for the career he has had. So does Adesanya. These are incredible, incredible athletes.”
“We as Africans, we inspire our whole continent. There’s not a lot of us in the UFC, especially at this level at the top.”
Du Plessis noted that the UFC Oklahoma City main event was just the second all-African headliner in UFC history. “I’ve had the honor of being part of both of those, and that’s a massive honor. Beef? There is no beef. We represent our continent, and we do so very proudly. And tonight, there was no beef tonight. It was two warriors going at it, and I think we showed that to the world.”
Watch the full UFC Oklahoma City post-fight press conference with Dricus Du Plessis above.
