UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is set to make the next defense of his title in February in Sydney, according to his head coach, Morne Visser.
Following Dricus Du Plessis‘ successful title defense against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, ‘Stillknocks’ is waiting to see who the next contender will be.
UFC boss, Dana White, teased that Sean Strickland will likely be the next challenger despite having only picked up one win since losing the title to the South African in January.
Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev are also set to fight in a five-round co-main event at UFC 308 with the winner likely throwing a spanner in the middleweight works.
Morne Visser confirms Du Plessis will defend his title in February
With the promotion rumored to be touching down in Sydney in February, Du Plessis’ head coach, Morne Visser has confirmed that the 185lb champion will be preparing to defend his title on that card, and has shut down Sean Strickland as a contender.
“We spoke to our agent Dan (Rubenstein) and he speaks to the UFC and we’ve been up and down and I had a conversation yesterday actually with Dricus and I said to him, there’s only one thing for certain at this stage and that’s that we’ve got to be ready to fight in Sydney in February,” Visser told Submission Radio.
“My opinion is, Sean’s overselling it, he’s had one win after Dricus and it was against (Paulo) Costa, Whittaker had two and I think he’s gonna go for number three now so I think, my honest opinion is next for us in line will be Whittaker in Sydney in February,” Visser admitted.
If ‘The Reaper’ is able to get past the avoided Chimaev then the UFC will undoubtedly reconsider their plans as he would then be on a three-fight win streak since losing to Du Plessis, whereas Strickland has only fought once.
“I think he’s gonna beat Khamzat and I honestly think that they’re gonna give him the shot… I think the UFC’s waiting for who’s gonna win between Rob and Khamzat and that’s our next opponent. I don’t necessarily say the winner because if Khamzat wins I think we’re gonna fight Strickland and then Khamzat later,” Visser continued.
Du Plessis’ head coach breaks down how a rematch would go against Whittaker
Du Plessis’ first win over Whittaker back at UFC 290 was one of the biggest upset wins in the past few years, however since then, ‘Stillknocks’ has improved exponentially and has showcased that by becoming champion.
Visser has stated that Dricus doesn’t need a lot of adjustments to be able to beat Whittaker again, despite the fact that the New Zealander had an off night.
“You haven’t seen the Dricus that I coach, the Dricus that I coach is a scary dude, if he stays composed, well he doesn’t need to he finishes everybody anyway, but if he stays composed you’re gonna say, ‘Wow, we’ve never seen anything like this’.
“I don’t need to do a lot of adjustments to get Dricus to beat Rob again I just need Dricus to focus a little bit more on being calmer and connective. You guys haven’t seen anything of Dricus yet,” Visser teased.