UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis says he’ll be the crowd favourite over Israel Adesanya in Perth

Dricus du Plessis wants to follow in the footsteps of his beloved Springboks with a dominant win over an old rival in Perth next week, which would see him keep his UFC middleweight title.

Dricus du Plessis wants to emulate the Springboks next weekend. Picture: Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Dricus du Plessis says he will be the fan favourite at UFC 305 in Perth next weekend as he plans a triple trans-Tasman trouncing by following in the footsteps of his beloved Springboks smashing the Wallabies.

A rugby tragic and former age-group union star, du Plessis was a keen observer as South Africa hammered Australia 33-7 in the Rugby Championship opener in Brisbane on Saturday.

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And the South African’s first middleweight title defence, against New Zealand star Israel Adesanya at RAC Arena in Perth next Sunday, will come less than 24 hours after the Springboks’ second Test against Australia down the road at Optus Stadium.

@Springboks putting on a clinic

— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) August 10, 2024

Du Plessis plans to follow in the footsteps of the Boks with a dominant performance against Adesanya to prove South Africa’s sporting superiority over its trans-Tasman rivals.

In fact, when he discovered that South Africa was playing in Perth on the same weekend as the UFC was in town, he demanded to be on the card.

Which is why, with a large ex-pat community already based in Perth and fans travelling for the rugby, du Plessis is confident he will be the fan favourite.

“When I heard that the Springboks were playing, I said I’m definitely getting on that card,” du Plessis said. “I asked to be on it and Izzy didn’t originally want to fight in Perth.

“Fighting in Australia is the next best thing to fighting in South Africa.

“Culturally, Australia and South Africa are very similar, and a lot of South Africans live in Australia.

“And a lot live in Perth. They call it Perth-toria, so with our two nations’ sporting history and culture, it’s going to be amazing.”

Dricus du Plessis (R) with Novak Djokovic (L) at the 2023 Rugby World Cup final. Picture: Supplied

Being the crowd favourite will be a new experience for du Plessis, whose rise to the middleweight title was always against more popular opponents.

He received the loudest boos of anyone on the card in the days leading up to his fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC290 in Las Vegas last year.

They were even louder when he challenged then-champion Sean Strickland in Toronto in January.

The funny thing about both of those fights – and an example of the fickle nature of UFC fans – is that although he was cast as the bad guy, du Plessis left the Octagon to cheers each time.

Dricus du Plessis scored a huge upset win over Rob Whittaker last year. Picture: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“I’ve grown so used to not being cheered when I walk out – I haven’t been cheered once,” he said. “But that’s all changed every single fight after the fight.

“When I fought in Canada against Strickland and, geez, they were loving him and they were just booing be.

“But by the fourth round, the crowd was cheering my name. They switched mid-fight.

“That’s what I’m here for. I don’t get paid to win fans over on the mic. I get paid to give fans their money’s worth from the tickets they bought and to make the fight amazing.

“That’s one thing I can guarantee every single fight. I’ve never had a boring fight in my life and that’s not going to change now.”

Originally published as UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis says he’ll be the crowd favourite over Israel Adesanya in Perth