Dricus du Plessis Eyes Two-Division Glory, Vows To Reclaim Middleweight Title Before Moving To 205

When Dricus du Plessis was the middleweight champion, the division was very active. He used to fight twice a year, always delivered thrilling fights, and did plenty of trash talk to build the hype around his bouts. Fans really connected with his style.

However, since losing his title to Khamzat Chimaev, he went quiet for a while. He has since bounced back with a win over Kamaru Usman and is now eyeing the middleweight belt again, with even bigger ambitions beyond that.

Dricus du Plessis Wants to Reclaim the Middleweight Belt

Dricus du Plessis wants to win back the UFC middleweight title before moving up to light heavyweight. He believes he is big enough to compete at 205 pounds and is confident he can become champion there too. During a recent show, he said, “I want to get my belt back and eventually go up to 205 and go test myself there. And I'm certain that I'll be a champion. I'm big enough for that division, and I'm certain I can be champion at that division as well.”

For now, his main goal is to reclaim the middleweight belt before chasing a second title. The South African is confident in his ability to win gold at light heavyweight too, but he knows he has to get past the middleweight division first.

Dricus du Plessis Claims He Felt Khamzat Chimaev 'Quitting' During Fifth Round of Their Fight

It has been more than a year since du Plessis lost his title to Khamzat Chimaev. The 32-year-old claims he could feel "Borz" starting to give up during the fifth round of their fight, saying Chimaev looked like he didn't want to be there anymore. During his interview with Ariel Helwani, he said,“I could feel he didn’t wanna be there anymore. I could feel it. Just the way he looked and felt, when I got on top of him, I could feel he went ‘oh sh*t’.”

DDP believes the Chechen fighter was struggling mentally at that point in the fight. Fans are now eager to see the South African get back into title contention, and if he does reclaim the middleweight belt, it will be one of the defining moments of his career.