5 reasons why Dricus du Plessis is already a middleweight GOAT contender

Dricus du Plessis is fast approaching, what many believe, could be a legacy-defining fight for his career. 'Stillknocks' aka 'DDP' is booked to defend his UFC middleweight championship against former UFC middleweight kingpin Sean Strickland, the same fighter whom he outpointed to capture the belt in January 2024.

Their rematch headlines UFC 312, which goes down at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 8, 2025 (Feb. 9, 2025, local time in Australia).

As part of the fight-week festivities, today, we take a deep dive into Dricus du Plessis' legacy as a middleweight great in the sport of MMA and the UFC organization. From a historical perspective, the South African has already proven himself at the fight game's highest levels.

But is it enough to deem him a potential middleweight G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) contender? Is his legacy already comparable to that of Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya, or arguably the greatest middleweight ever -- Anderson 'The Spider' Silva? Let's take a closer look.

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#5 A bonafide finisher

Dricus du Plessis boasts a professional MMA record of 22 victories and two defeats. Of his wins, 11 have come via submission, nine via KO/TKO, and just two via decision.

Needless to say, he's a bonafide finisher; sometimes to his own detriment! His two defeats, which came relatively early in his MMA career, are a submission loss against Garreth McLellan and a knockout loss against Roberto Soldic (he'd previously knocked out Soldic).

Many fans and experts have often criticized du Plessis, suggesting that his fighting style isn't the most technically sound or aesthetically appealing from a martial arts purist's perspective. Nevertheless, the deafening sound of his success has, thus far, significantly silenced most criticism.

Speaking of his UFC career up to this point, he's undefeated in the organization, and only two opponents -- Brad Tavares and Sean Strickland -- have managed to go the distance with him. The rest of them were stopped, either by KO/TKO or by submission, at the hands of du Plessis.

To do that at the highest levels of the sport is no mean feat, which, in turn, lends credence to the case of du Plessis being a middleweight G.O.A.T. contender.

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#4 Dricus du Plessis' title win and reign impact more than his own career

South Africa has long been praised for producing a number of exceptional sportspersons -- from sports like football (soccer) to cricket, and more. The African nation has given the world a number of talented athletes and superstars like cricketing greats Jacques Kallis and A.B. de Villiers to MMA great Dricus du Plessis.

The talented du Plessis' feat of capturing UFC gold in January 2024 made him the first South African UFC champion ever. Many other fighters from the country, including the likes of UFC bantamweight Cameron Saaiman, have been fighting to rise up the ranks.

Well, du Plessis' title win and reign would undoubtedly help inspire other South Africans to compete in MMA. Perhaps a young fan, motivated by watching 'DDP' pull off the unthinkable and win a world championship in the world's premier MMA organization has already inspired them to become a fighter.

As such, the impact of his legacy extends far beyond merely his own career, positively influencing many other current and future fighters from South Africa.

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#3 Spectacular stoppage wins over MMA legends

Dricus du Plessis has picked up many impressive wins over the course of his storied mixed martial arts career. However, the one win that many feel truly helped him break through as a middleweight elite was his spectacular stoppage of former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

At UFC 290 in July 2023, du Plessis sent shockwaves across the MMA world by finishing 'The Reaper' via second-round TKO. His next fight saw him dethrone then-middleweight champion Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 297 in January 2024.

'DDP' then notched his first title defense by stopping combat sports megastar and former two-time UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya via fourth-round submission at UFC 305 in August 2024. It also happens to be du Plessis' most recent octagon appearance.

Akin to his stoppage of Whittaker, the stoppage win over Adesanya was an invaluable feather in the cap for du Plessis. Both Whittaker and 'Izzy' themselves are counted among the greatest middleweights ever. Ergo, removing the judges' scorecards from the equation and finishing both legends placed du Plessis in a unique spot in the list of the 185-pound division's all-time greats.

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#2 Dricus du Plessis' current standing, potential two-division title pursuit

After Dricus du Plessis successfully defended his UFC middleweight championship by submitting Israel Adesanya, reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira expressed interest in returning to middleweight and fighting him. Pereira, himself a former UFC middleweight champion, affirmed that he was confident he'd be able to dethrone du Plessis.

Nevertheless, du Plessis put forth a counterproposal. He suggested that instead of the Brazilian superstar returning to middleweight, he'd rather move up to light heavyweight and dethrone him.

Now, an interesting element at play is that Pereira, at 37 years of age, is presumably in the latter stages of his athletic prime. However, du Plessis, who's currently 31, presumably still has several strong years of his athletic prime ahead of him.

Moreover, to put things in perspective, du Plessis has already cemented himself as an all-time great at middleweight while still quite young. Should he move up to light heavyweight and become a two-weight world champion, or even attempt to do and fail, he'd further boost his profile among the greats.

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#1 Dricus du Plessis is one of the most well-rounded fighters

All the condemnation of his purported lack of technical proficiency and supposedly awkward fighting style aside, the matter of fact is that Dricus du Plessis' MMA arsenal has worked well for him. In fact, over the past few years, many fans and experts have come around and acknowledged that du Plessis is a truly well-rounded fighter.

They often suggest that 'DDP' isn't the best striker, grappler, knockout artist, or submission savant out there -- but he is one of the best at mixing it up. And that's what the sport of mixed martial arts is about! However, it's noteworthy that it doesn't necessarily mean he's underwhelming in any of those departments.

The secret to Dricus du Plessis' success lies in the fact that he possesses a certain robustness in each aspect of MMA. He's got solid boxing, kickboxing, BJJ, wrestling, and, of course, a deftness at blending them for maximum benefit.

His well-rounded MMA skill set makes him suitable for being a G.O.A.T. not only at middleweight but at any weight class. As such, du Plessis' upcoming rematch against Strickland is yet another opportunity that he can use to add to his already amazing legacy.