UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has fought some tough competition throughout his tenure with the promotion, but one opponent especially stands out to him.
Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) endured two hard-fought battles with Sean Strickland, but it was his recent title defense against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 that hit different. Du Plessis submitted Adesanya in Round 4 after a back-and-forth battle.
“My toughest opponent to date, well that’s a very open-ended question because there were fights that were the hardest for me,” Du Plessis said in an interview with Betway South Africa. “I have to say probably Adesanya was the best guy I faced in his specific area, probably the fight I was most nervous for just in terms of how good he is.
“He can catch you with anything, anytime. All the time I spent looking up to him and studying him because he was the benchmark. Knowing what he’s capable of, I think he’s the best guy I’ve faced and obviously if you watch that fight, it was one hell of a fight. It was a tough night at the office for both of us.”
Du Plessis will look to notch his third title defense when he takes on Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the UFC 319 headliner on Aug. 16 at United Center in Chicago (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
The South African champ has finished all but two opponents in his career.
“When you go on pure toughness, you have to go with either Brad Tavares or Sean Strickland,” Du Plessis continued. “Just the amount of damage they were able to take and just keep going.”
