"Bullsh*t to be quite honest" - When Dricus Du Plessis took offense to "American Khamzat" Bo Nickal pushing him to the undercard

Dricus Du Plessis may now be the UFC middleweight champion but has not always fought on pay-per-view main cards.

Just two fights before his championship fight against Sean Strickland, Du Plessis entered his name into the title picture with a TKO finish of Derek Brunson at UFC 285. However, the fight occurred on the event's preliminary card, much to Du Plessis' dismay.

In an interview with The Schmo, leading up to UFC 285, Du Plessis called the placement of his fight on the card 'bulls***' after seeing Bo Nickal on the main card instead of him. Du Plessis said:

"I think maybe the UFC is like: 'We have an American Khamzat here' [with Bo Nickal]. But I think it's bulls***, quite honest. This guy is coming in, making his UFC debut fighting on the main card [while] I've had four fights and three performance bonuses and I get booted to the undercard. But no hate, it's not his fault, he's only here to fight."

Du Plessis continued to tell The Schmo that he was interested to see how Nickal would perform 'under the bright lights.' Nickal would submit Jamie Pickett in the first round with an arm triangle choke.

The South African also vowed to finish his fight with Brunson within two rounds, which he technically did. Du Plessis earned the TKO stoppage win after round two concluded as Brunson's corner threw in the towel.

Though Nickal did not publicly respond to Du Plessis' comments at the time, the American wrestler cryptically tweeted a subtle shot at the new champion following UFC 297.

Watch the full interview with Dricus Du Plessis from The Schmo's YouTube channel below:

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Bo Nickal calls Dricus Du Plessis 'easy work' after 'Still Knocks' wins title at UFC 297

After Dricus Du Plessis earned the UFC middleweight title by split decision over Sean Strickland at UFC 297, Bo Nickal did not waste any time calling his shot on social media.

Just minutes after Bruce Buffer announced the official decision, Nickal took to X/Twitter to seemingly post his thoughts on a potential matchup with the new champion.

While a potential matchup with Du Plessis and Nickal appears far in the future, the latter has quickly become a fan-favorite in the UFC with two first-round finishes in 2023. Nickal entered the promotion after becoming the first fighter to earn back-to-back first-round finishes on Dana White's Contender Series the year prior.