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* * *
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Jan. 20 made its long-awaited
return to Toronto with
UFC 297, and while the card as a whole may not have lived up to
expectations, fans at least got to witness history with the
crowning of the promotion’s first-ever champion from South
Africa.
Dricus Du
Plessis defeated
Sean
Strickland by close split decision—48-47, 48-47, 47-48—in the
five-round main event to capture the undisputed UFC middleweight
title and end the Californian’s brief reign atop the division.
While Du Plessis winning was not an upset by any means (both men
closed at -110 odds), few expected the South African to win the
fight on the scorecards. His lack of experience in the fourth and
fifth rounds, as well as his unorthodox and sometimes seemingly
“sloppy” style, had many observers questioning his cardio and
whether or not he could compete with the unwavering Strickland if
and when the championship rounds did arrive. Needless to say, Du
Plessis surprised a lot of people, not only by going five rounds
for the first time in his career but by finding his best moments
later in the fight, especially Round 4.
Despite Du Plessis’ tremendous accomplishment, journalists and fans
alike seem divided on whether or not he can hold on to his title
for the rest of 2024.
There are a few enticing options for Du Plessis’ first title
defense, but none are more compelling than former UFC middleweight
champion
Israel
Adesanya. Up until September, many were arguing that Adesanya
might be the greatest middleweight of all-time. He had nearly
cleaned out the division, with wins over
Alex
Pereira,
Robert
Whittaker,
Paulo
Costa,
Jared
Cannonier,
Marvin
Vettori,
Kelvin
Gastelum and others. Du Plessis appeared to be the next clear
title challenger for Adesanya, having beaten the likes of
Whittaker,
Derek
Brunson and
Darren Till
in his rise through the 185-pound ranks.
However, a fight with Adesanya never came to fruition, with Du
Plessis unable to make the two-month turnaround to face “The Last
Stylebender” in September. The UFC desperately needed Adesanya to
headline the card, as it marked the promotion’s return to Sydney,
where he had become a massive star as a member of the
City Kickboxing camp in Auckland, New Zealand. When Du Plessis
rejected the offer, Strickland stepped in and proceeded to author
the biggest upset of 2023 by dominating Adesanya to a five-round
unanimous decision and becoming the UFC middleweight champion.
With Adesanya originally saying he wanted to take some time off
from the sport, his being an immediate challenger for Du Plessis
was thought to be unlikely. However, the two men have a heated
history of trash talk and genuine dislike for one another. With
Adesanya apparently willing to return to fight Du Plessis after the
South African called him out during his post-fight interview at UFC
297, a showdown between the two seems more than likely to be next,
perhaps at UFC 300 in April.
Aside from Adesanya, there are plenty of imposing contenders who
have yet to face Du Plessis, with Costa, Cannonier and
Khamzat
Chimaev all coming off impressive victories over high-level
opponents. Chimaev improved to 13-0 with a majority decision over
Kamaru
Usman at UFC 294 in October and holds other notable wins over
Kevin
Holland and
Gilbert
Burns. He has been viewed as a future champion for years, but
without a victory over anyone currently ranked in the Top 10 at 185
pounds, he may need to clear at least one more hurdle to secure a
title shot.
If Du Plessis does, in fact, compete at UFC 300, it would leave him
eight months or so to fight for a third time in 2024. Essentially,
it is very likely that if he manages to defend his championship at
UFC 300, he will have another title defense before the end of the
year. No one questions Du Plessis’ talents, as he now finds himself
on a nine-fight winning streak that includes his 7-0 run in the
UFC. With that said, there is a deep list of challengers who are
champing at the bit for an opportunity to fight for UFC gold; and
with two potential title defenses in store for Du Plessis in 2024,
it will be exceedingly difficult for him to retain his championship
for the remainder of the calendar year.
No matter what happens, one thing seems certain: Fans are in for a
treat when it comes to middleweight title fights in the months
ahead.