‘Everything is on the line for Dricus’: Beat Adesanya and UFC will bring fight to SA

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, could next fight on home soil should he win his match against big rival Israel Adesanya in Perth, Australia this weekend.

The South African fighter, who became the middleweight belt holder in January when he beat Sean Strickland in Toronto, takes on Nigerian Adesanya this weekend in much-anticipated fight for the 185-pound strap in a battle for the ages.

A victory for the South African in the early hours of Sunday morning (SA time) will apparently secure him a title fight in South Africa.

Venue concerns in SA

These were the words of UFC president Dana White, who made the statement after this week’s installment of Dana White’s The Contender Series.

“Everything is on the line (in this fight), especially because they dislike each other so much. If he can beat Izzy and bring that belt back to South Africa, obviously we’ll do an event there,” White said.

This appears to be easier said than done though. When Du Plessis claimed the title in January there was already talk of his first defence being held in SA.

But finding an event arena big enough is possibly the biggest issue, with the only indoor arena capable of holding such a spectacle being Times Square Arena in Pretoria. The only problem is this facility is only capable of holding between 8,500 and 10,000 people, which is too small to host a UFC pay-per-view event.

The only realistic option for the country would be an open-air stadium event and that would open the door for FNB Stadium in Johannesburg or Cape Town Stadium in the Mother City.

But the UFC have shown to not be the biggest fans of stadium events having not hosted many in the past.

Kolisi, Etzebeth to support Du Plessis

Meanwhile, Du Plessis could be accompanied to the ring on Sunday by Springbok World Cup winners, Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth.

The Springboks are also currently in Perth, preparing for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies.

Du Plessis is said to have told KFM in an interview on Tuesday that everything is in place for Kolisi and Etzebeth to walk him to the ring on Sunday.

“We’re busy with that, getting Eben and Siya to walk out with us. It looks like it’s basically going to be a done deal,” Du Plessis told breakfast show host Darren Simpson, according to sarugbymag.co.za.

“We are going to have them walk out with me. They won’t be sitting in the corner, but they will be walking with me to the Octagon, which is pretty special.

“The Boks are playing, they are the pride of South Africa, and then I’m fighting, all on the same weekend. Talk about stars aligning,” Du Plessis added.