Dricus Du Plessis gunning for ‘Double Champ Status’ after middleweight title fight against Sean Strickland

Undefeated in the UFC, Dricus Du Plessis eyes the double champ status, joining the select few in the MMA elite. His plans for a remarkable legacy post-UFC 297.

Dricus Du Plessis gunning for ‘Double Champ Status’ after middleweight title fight against Sean Strickland

Dricus Du Plessis plans move up in weight after Sean Strickland fight (Image via: IMAGO)

Dricus Du Plessis will fight Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in the first middleweight title fight not involving Israel Adesanya since June 2018. The last time that happened was when Robert Whitaker fought Yoel Romero at UFC 225. Du Plessis recently gave out his plans in the UFC after UFC 297.

Du Plessis is undefeated in the UFC, with his latest bout at UFC 290 being a TKO victory over Robert Whitaker. Strickland has already said that the fight against du Plessis is gonna be one of the toughest fights of his career. The Submission Radio interviewed Du Plessis, and the South African discussed moving to the light heavyweight division. This is what he said about it:

I want that double champ status. Everybody does. I think that's almost become the norm, you know. It's getting that status as a double champ, and I definitely also want that. I want to be in that 1% of the 1%.
Dricus Du Plessis via Submission Radio.
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Du Plessis wants to have an incredible legacy in the UFC. He cited that becoming a double champion has become a norm in the UFC. Like every other champion who wants to become a double champion, du Plessis is no different. Only a select few have become double champions in the UFC. The latest was Alex Pereira at UFC 295 when he became the light heavyweight champion.

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Alex Pereira and Dricus du Plessis share a rival in Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis vs. Adesanya was one of the most anticipated fights in the UFC. However, Strickland won at UFC 293 and dampened the plan. Nevertheless, Du Plessis still has an interest in fighting Adesanya in the future. Adesanya is presently on a self-imposed hiatus.

Dricus Du Plessis explains why he would move to light heavyweight soon

Even before signing with the UFC, Dricus du Plessis was champion in two different promotions. He was a two-division champion at EFC and a welterweight champion at KSW. EFC is the biggest MMA promotion in Africa, and KSW is big in Europe.

Dricus du Plessis
Dricus du Plessis (Source: IMAGO)

In a recent interview on Submission Radio, du Plessis talked about his plans to become a double champion by moving up to 205lbs. This is the reason he provided.

I'm a big guy. I can definitely hang with the guys at 205. I'll be giving up a little bit of reach, but, you know, in terms of strength, power, and size, I'm right there.
Dricus Du Plessis on moving to 205-pounds division.

Du Plessis plans to win the middleweight title at UFC 297. He wants Israel Adesanya as his first defense but felt the UFC will offer Khamzat Chimaev. After his title defense, Du Plessis thought that there would be no one left to fight as Adesanya and Whitaker had already cleared out the division. Du Plessis is a slight underdog against Sean Strickland. For context, he was a big underdog against Whitaker, but that did not matter as he finished Whitaker.

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