DU PLESSIS DEFENDS UFC WORLD CHAMP TITLE

Dricus ‘Stillknocks’ du Plessis remains the UFC world champion.

Du Plessis beat American Sean Strickland at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia.

The fight was filled with drama and lots of blood after the South African hit Strickland directly on the nose during the fourth round. It led to Strickland's nose breaking and large amounts of blood streaming out of his nose.

The decision to award du Plessis with the title was unanimous and came after the fifth round.

The two rivals have a lot of respect for each other and even share some banter backstage after the fight. During the post-fight press conference, du Plessis said the American’s nose looks “screwed up”.

“I told him that he was ugly before obviously when we fought because he’s not a pretty person but when I saw him after that when I hit him in the nose I said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe you got uglier’ and he did, I was like, ‘Your nose is so screwed up now’.”

After the fight, while still in the Octagon, du Plessis called out the Chech Khazat Chimaev. Du Plessis hasn’t been silent about his urge to fight Chimaev or that a UFC fight night should take place in South Africa.

Maybe 2025 is the year that both of du Plessis’ dreams come true.

Image credit: Yahoo Sports