A fierce KSW rivalry has left the two heavy hitters tied with one knockout win over each other.
In the space of four years, Dricus du Plessis went from stepping foot inside the Octagon for the first time to becoming the UFC middleweight champion.
‘Stillknocks’ is set to return in the main event of UFC 312 this Saturday night where he will look to record his second title defense in a rematch with Sean Strickland. Despite the criticism he has faced due to his unique fighting style, du Plessis has been undeniably effective since signing with the promotion.
He has won eight consecutive fights since being added to the roster, producing six finishes and beating the last three men to hold the 185-pound gold before him. In fact, you have to go back to October of 2018 to find the last time that the South African tasted defeat.
READ MORE: UFC 312 loses one fight as Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis hit the scales for weigh-ins
Roberto Soldic says a trilogy between him and Dricus du Plessis could still happen in the future
Dricus du Plessis’ last loss came during the time he spent in Polish promotion KSW where he became the welterweight champion in 2018 before suffering the first and only knockout defeat of his career.
After stopping Croatia’s Roberto Soldic in the second round to win the title at KSW 43, a rematch was scheduled for later that year in London, England where ‘Robocop’ got his revenge in the third round with a rubber match never taking place.
“Who knows, we are still young guys, who knows,” Soldic told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive interview. “I focus on my opponent now and many, many guys ask me about him. I wish him all the best but you never know. I’m 30, he’s like 31, so we’re young guys so who knows what future will bring.”
The two men went their separate ways after that with du Plessis moving up a weight class and signing to the UFC after producing back-to-back wins whilst Soldic stayed in KSW, recording one of the best win streaks in the history of the promotion to become a two-weight champion.
Du Plessis’ former foe then moved to ONE Championship where he has had to weather a difficult period ahead of his long awaited return at ONE 171 in Qatar on February 20.
He pointed to other examples of fighters who have competed in both the UFC and ONE Championship to explain that whilst du Plessis may be the reigning UFC middleweight champion, he’s also competing at the highest level.
“You can see I beat this guy, he’s now UFC champion and Reinier is the ONE champion, he beat easily two times in the UFC and Demetrious Johnson went to ONE Championship and then he lose against champion so these levels are, anything can happen in the cage so yeah, me and Dricus trilogy? You never know.”
Dricus du Plessis has plenty of challenges in front of him
In the same way that Roberto Soldic is focused on his upcoming return at ONE 171, Dricus du Plessis is currently zeroed in on his main event clash with Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia.
That being said, if the South African is able to keep hold of the 185-pound gold, there are still plenty of exciting challenges for him. He may have beaten the previous titleholders but newer contenders like Khamzat Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov have made similar impacts in recent times.
Not to mention his goal of moving up a weight class at some point in the future to try and achieve success in the light heavyweight division. Du Plessis certainly won’t have to look very far to find his future opponents.