Dricus gets the fight he deserves

By Dylan Bettencourt Sports Editor

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White announced that Dricus du Plessis will fight champion Sean Strickland for the belt on 20 January 2024 at UFC 297. 

The fans who have followed his career thus far know that he has had 20 wins and only two losses, but not everybody knows him as the guy who coined the term, “Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie”. 

“They don’t know what we know” is what the 29-year-old said after his shock victory over Robert Whittaker earlier in the year. 

The winner of that fight was seen as the one who would next challenge for the middleweight title, which at the time belonged to Israel Adesanya. 

So when Dricus won the fight, it seemed he was destined to settle his beef with Adesanya. 

And he had the chance to do just that nine weeks after his win over Whittaker, but an injury ruled him out of a shot at gold. 

The pair had been going back and forth for months over Dricus’ comments about being a “real African”. 

Dricus claimed he would become the first “African” champion despite Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman and Francis Nganuou all holding belts at the time. 

But the South African claimed he was the only one who lived and breathed African air every day, which is the truth, as the other three are based overseas.

However, the claim has had a mixed reception and Dricus has been criticised for the race-based comments.

Adesanya lost the belt to Strickland recently, which is perhaps the biggest upset in UFC history. 

Rightfully so, the former champion said he needed to take some time off to recover.

Many felt Dricus lost his chance to fight for the belt after his injury but Dana White thought otherwise. 

On 20 January in Toronto, Canada, Dricus could become the first South African UFC champion where he would undoubtedly celebrate by saying “hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie”. 

Pictured above: Dricus du Plessis. 

Image source: X