Praise for Dricus du Plessis after second UFC title defence

Minister of Sport, Art and Culture Gayton McKenzie was one of the first to congratulate Dricus “Still knocks” du Plessis for successfully defending his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title in Sydney for a second time against Sean Strickland on Sunday morning.

Du Plessis caused an uproar back home this week for wearing a T-shirt with “Trump prefers champions” printed on it in the lead up to the fight.

It divided the nation, with some suggesting he should go and live in the United States, while others commended him “for saying it as it is”.

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Du Plessis’ victory

Sunday’s fight was the rematch after their first fight in Toronto just over a year ago, where Du Plessis took the title from Strickland via a split decision after five rounds.

This rematch went the same way but this time there was no doubt about the outcome as Du Plessis battered Strickland for 25 minutes and came away with a unanimous decision victory.

“A champion representing South Africa on the international stage entering the ring wearing the SA flag, I must now not support him because he did or said something I or you disagree with?

“You guys have gone mad. Well done Dricus,” McKenzie said on social media.

‘Du Plessis was on a great winning streak’

Former Mixed Martial Arts fighter, Boyd “Sneaky” Allen, said Du Plessis was on a great winning streak, having won nine in a row.

“He had a brilliant win and continues to prove all the naysayers wrong and has the whole nation behind him in South Africa,” he said.

“Athletes are doing sports and parents are putting their children into sports because they can see there’s a future and money to be made in the sport.”

Allen said Du Plessis has become a household name when you talk about Mixed Martial Arts.

“He has opened the doors for the sport. He is a great ambassador and hopefully we will have UFC Africa soon which will grow the sport even further,” he added.

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Love him or hate him

Boxer Ryno Liebenberg said South Africa needs a superstar in the fighting game.

“The last one was Brian Mitchell and now Du Plessis is our superstar.

“He wins the fights and does everything right and what needs to be done. Love him or hate him everyone gets up to see him fight.”

African Boxing Union junior lightweight titleholder Lucky Bokaba said Du Plessis made him proud to be a South African.

“He did very well and his good performance secured him a win. Du Plessis surprised Strickland with his approach instead of being predictable,” he said.

Bokaba is part of the CIT Performance Institute in Hatfield where Du Plessis trains and was in his training camp.

“He is our No 1,” he said. Vusi Jokazi, boxing coach at CIT, said Du Plessis’ win on Sunday morning was a fight for the books.

Legendary status

He described it as well executed and unforgettable. “Legendary status. The guy loves to fight. “And he just wants to keep on fighting and win.”

Jokazi said the champion made it look easy from round one.

World Boxing Council bridge weight title holder Kevin Lerena said he was very proud of Du Plessis as “he has done exceptionally well as an elite level professional fighter”.

“It’s always good to see another South African thriving and running the division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” he said.

“Well done DDP. We are proud of him and wish him all the best because he motivates us and gives us hope as South Africans that we can make it to those big stages, whether it’s in rugby or combat sports.”

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