Surprising UFC Name Being Favored to Secure Shot at Dricus Du Plessis

The head coach of UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has a surprising name in mind for his fighter's next title defense.

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. / (via Zuffa LLC)

Dricus Du Plessis' coach has made a surprising choice for his fighter's next title defense.

Du Plessis lays claim to the UFC Middleweight Championship. He's coming off his first successful title defense against Israel Adesanya. After securing a submission finish, Du Plessis hopes to continue adding to his resume once the calendar rolls over to 2025.

"Stillknocks'" coach, Morne Visser, has an idea of when the185-pound ruler will return to the Octagon and who will be standing opposite him on fight night.

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Sep 3, 2022; Paris, FRANCE; Robert Whittaker (red gloves) before his fight against Marvin Vettori (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. / Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

During an appearance on Submission Radio, Visser revealed that the goal is to get Dricus Du Plessis prepared for his next title defense in February.

"I had a conversation actually yesterday with Dricus and I said to him, 'There's only one thing certain at this stage. Only one thing, and that's that we've got to be ready to fight in Sydney in February.'"

Visser thinks a Robert Whittaker victory over Khamzat Chimaev later this month would set the stage for a massive middleweight title fight in enemy territory. Du Plessis has a second-round TKO victory over Whittaker.

"My honest opinion is that next for us in line will be Whittaker in Sydney in February. I think he's gonna beat Khamzat and I honestly think that they're gonna give him the shot."

Visser went on to share his belief that Sean Strickland hasn't earned a title rematch solely on a win over Paulo Costa. We'll see if the UFC matchmakers agree.

If you use any quotes from this article, please leave an H/T to MMA Knockout on SI for the transcription.

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