Latest news with #DricusduPlessis
IOL News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Financial, venue issues KO's plans for Dricus du Plessis' title defence on SA soil
Dricus du Plessis Khamzat Chimaev will challenge Dricus du Plessis (above) for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 319 on August 16 in Chicago. Photo: AFP In a bittersweet turn of events for local fight fans, Dricus du Plessis, the reigning UFC world middleweight champion, has failed in his quest to defend his title on home soil. During a candid podcast discussion, Du Plessis, who has emerged as a formidable force in the UFC, detailed the challenges currently stymying his wish. Financial constraints and suitability issues surrounding potential venues that are compliant with UFC standards posed massive problems. With a potent mix of skill and charisma inside the octagon, Du Plessis has rapidly gained traction in the UFC, capturing the hearts of fans worldwide.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Dana White gives key Tom Aspinall vs Jon Jones update and announces THREE huge title fights
Dana White took to Instagram live with three major title fights announced on Tuesday night. The UFC president began by stating that Ilia Topuria, the featherweight champion, will take on Charles Oliveira for the lightweight belt. Topuria has become one of the sport's biggest stars and is already bidding to become a double champion, having won the title at 145-pounds. That will headline International Fight Week on June 28 in Las Vegas, with Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara-France for the flyweight title taking the co-main event slot. Topuria vs Oliveira can only take place for the lightweight title because Islam Makhachev has vacated the belt. He'll be moving up to welterweight to face Jack Della Maddalena for a chance to become double champ himself. Maddalena is fresh off his five-round win over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 last Saturday so the date and location of his battle with the Russian is yet to be announced. On August 18, Dricus du Plessis will put his middleweight belt on the line against undefeated sensation Khamzat Chimaev. Availability has been the main issue for Chimaev, who has struggled with his health and the after-effects of Covid, while also having problems cutting weight. There should be no such issues for him at middleweight, where he faces the South African champion, who is also undefeated since joining the UFC. On the live stream, plenty of fans were commenting, asking the UFC president whether they can expect an announcement for Tom Aspinall vs Jon Jones. White said: 'I told you guys already, we'll get Aspinall vs Jones done. The heavyweight fight will happen. Just relax, I'll announce that soon.' His confidence should put Aspinall and fans at ease, with Jones never committing publicly to the fight. On Tuesday, he hit back at fans accusing him of ducking the match-up, while riding on a motorbike during a live stream of his own. He said: 'I've got people in the chat calling me a duck. Meanwhile, I'm living my absolute best life. 'I don't know if it's considered ducking when you're living good. I don't think it works like that.' It seems that contest would have to take place towards the end of the year and Aspinall is growing tired of waiting - so is unlikely to hang on much longer before moving on to a different opponent.
Express Tribune
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Du Plessis vs Chimaev officially announced for UFC 319 by Dana White
Listen to article UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is set to defend his belt against undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev in the headline bout of UFC 319 on 16 August at the United Center in Chicago, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed Tuesday. The event marks the promotion's first return to Chicago since UFC 238 in 2019, and it promises to deliver a high-stakes clash between two of the division's top fighters. Du Plessis, who has not lost since joining the UFC in 2020, captured the middleweight title by edging Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 297. He went on to submit Israel Adesanya in the fourth round at UFC 305 and followed it up with a unanimous decision win over Strickland in their February 2025 rematch at UFC 312. Meanwhile, Chimaev enters the fight with an unblemished record and growing hype, having delivered eight wins in the UFC, six of them by stoppage. The Chechen-born star made his strongest case for a title shot by submitting former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the first round at UFC 308—a performance awarded 2024 Submission of the Year. Though Chimaev's rise has been marked by sporadic activity due to injuries and visa issues, his dominance when active has kept him firmly in the title conversation. The upcoming bout against du Plessis offers him his long-awaited chance to claim UFC gold. UFC 319's full fight card is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, but the main event already has fans and analysts anticipating a potentially career-defining showdown.
The Citizen
12-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
OPINION: Big stadium, more people, cheaper tickets — bring UFC to SA
It's time Dricus du Plessis got the chance to fight in his home country. Dricus du Plessis is middleweight UFC champion, but is yet to fight in his home country of South Africa. Picture:As a South African, how much would you pay to go watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship – specifically in South Africa? This has been a question indirectly posed to lovers of mixed martial arts in the last few days by South Africa's UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis. Ever since DDP won the title back in the beginning of last year, there have been claims that the UFC have tried to host an event in South Africa, but the lack of an indoor arena big enough seems to be the biggest problem. But late last week on a podcast, Du Plessis shed some light on what now appears to be a problem just as big as the lack of a venue. He stated that the cheapest single ticket for a UFC event in Las Vegas – in an arena with a capacity of approximately 23,000 seats – costs around R6,000, with VIP ringside seats going for an astronomical R900,000 a pop. 'Come on, let Dricus fight in his home country' These numbers are quite simply well above the budget of most South Africans. He went on to say that here in South Africa the biggest indoor venue has a capacity of about 14,000, which will raise the price of the cheapest ticket to a ridiculous R10,000. Now, South Africa's Minister of Sport, Gayton McKenzie, agreed this is a problem. 'This is the absolute truth, we are trying to get sponsors to subsidise tickets, we must find a way,' McKenzie said on social media. This again raises the question of why can we not just host a South African UFC event in one of our many world class stadiums? There's Cape Town Stadium, FNB Stadium and Loftus Versfeld, all of which have a capacity of well over 50,000. But what about the weather? This has been one of the biggest reasons the UFC refuse to hold open air events. Our weather conditions in this country are mostly predicable so time of year would be the only problem. Bigger venues would mean more tickets sold. And more tickets sold would mean cheaper tickets. Come on UFC, book a stadium so we can see our champion in his own backyard.
The South African
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Dricus du Plessis details why South Africa won't host the UFC anytime soon
UFC Africa—you want it, I want it, and Dricus du Plessis wants it. Like Formula One, South Africa has been persistent in its desire to host one of the world's most daring sporting spectacles, and who better to lead Africa's inaugural UFC event than the Middleweight Champion himself? Africa has had its fair share of mixed martial arts (MMA) champions, from Cameroonian Francis Ngannou to Nigerian Kamaru Usman and Du Plessis, who is the latest regional fighter to take the crown. And of all three origins, South Africa, ripe with modern sporting infrastructure, is the likeliest destination to host a UFC event. So, why not now? The biggest obstacles blocking UFC Africa from materialising are income-per-capita and an indoor arena capable of hosting stadium-like numbers, the latter due to Dana White's dislike of outdoor events. 'The biggest problem that I see is that a UFC ticket in the T-Mobile Arena – I think the cheapest seat in that arena is $300. So that's R6000. The ringside seat, where the fighters walk out, is $45 000. That's R900 000,' Du Plessis explained on the Sias du Plessis Show. 'So let's say we get an arena, we have a 14 000 seater, we definitely have that. But the prices are going to be… we don't have that kind of money,' the UFC champion continued. 'Where are you going to get 14 000 people where the cheapest seat in the back is probably R10 000? That's the biggest problem we have, and that's why they need to make it big.' '[Hosting UFC Africa] is my dream, it's South Africa's dream, but the UFC's dream is making money. They're a business. They want to make it happen; they just need to find out how it's viable.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
