Du Plessis win vs Strickland ‘may unite SA’

Messages of good luck and “kick butt” have flooded in from all parts of the country for Dricus du Plessis, who hopes to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Many people took to social media to show their support for Du Plessis

Many people, from the Springboks to local artists such as Van Pletzen, have taken to social media to show their support for Du Plessis, who will fight American Sean Strickland, the UFC middleweight champion.

The UFC is the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world.

Amateur boxer Frankie Opperman said he was excited about the fight on Sunday and that he didn’t know how he would be able to sleep until then.

Opperman said it was a big fight with 18 100 arena tickets sold. Opperman said it was also impressive that a fight between a South African and Strickland sold out in Canada.

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“If Du Plessis wins, he will be the first South African UFC champion,” he said.

‘Du Plessis will win’

Opperman said he was nervous about the fight – but was confident Du Plessis would win.

“He will take that belt via the second round with a knockout or submission,” he said.

Opperman said if Du Plessis won the fight, it might unite South Africans in the same way that the Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup last year did.

Fight fan Frikkie van der Merwe said he was behind Du Plessis all the way.

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“The whole country is behind Du Plessis. We really hope he brings back the belt. It would mean a lot to Du Plessis but also to all of us back at home.

“We are not only backing him, we are with him there in spirit, fighting with him,” he said.

Van der Merwe said the fight put SA mixed martial arts on the map.

“The South African style of martial arts is developing and going for the titles. We, as South Africans, don’t say we are tough, Du Plessis is there to show we are,” he said.

Win would open up more opportunities for young and upcoming fighters

Nkazimulo Zulu said he was confident that Du Plessis would win.

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Zulu is the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) world bantamweight champion and will be competing for his second title in March as a flyweight. The EFC is a South African organisation.

“I am very excited and nervous because Du Plessis is my brother. We train with him and we want him to win. It’s a big thing if he brings that belt home.

“I think he will win. It will be a good thing for all South Africans. It will inspire us to compete so that the world recognises SA mixed martial arts as a worldclass sport,” he said.

Zulu said a win for Du Plessis would open up more opportunities for young and upcoming fighters who would like to join the sport, or those already in the sport who would start to believe that SA belongs on the world stage.