Dricus du Plessis teases double-championship dreams during brutally honest admission about end goal in MMA: "It's the next step" 

Dricus du Plessis does not plan to restrict himself to one division and aims to pursue a second UFC title in the future. However, he believes he still has work to do in the middleweight division.

He is set to defend his 185-pound title against Sean Strickland in a rematch on Feb. 9. In a recent interview with Mark Bouris, du Plessis shared his thoughts on when he would like to go after the second title, stating:

"When the time is right - I believe, at least three defenses before you even consider going up a weight division. You really have to dominate the division. I've beaten three of the guys in the top five in my division... If the top five that you've beaten are still the top five, that's where you get to the situation where you go, 'What's next?'... That's when I'll start thinking about that, but I definitely want to. 100 percent, it's part of the journey, it's the next step."

He added:

"Becoming the world champion is a big, big step, but this is not the end. My final step is being the greatest to ever do this sport, and along the way, being double champion is one of the steps to achieve that dream."

Check out Dricus du Plessis's comments below (7:00):

Du Plessis' statement follows several instances indicating his and light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira's interest in a potential super fight. Most notably, Pereira shared a picture of him posing next to his TV, immediately after du Plessis' UFC 305 win over Israel Adesanya.

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Dricus du Plessis wants to do what most UFC double champions have failed to achieve

In the early years of the modern UFC era, achieving multiple title defenses was considered the pinnacle of success. MMA legends such as Demetrious Johnson (11 title defenses), Anderson Silva (10 title defenses), Georges St-Pierre (9 title defenses), and Jose Aldo (9 title defenses in WEC and UFC) set the standard during this period.

However, over the past decade, Conor McGregor shifted the perception of success in the UFC by pursuing a second title in a different weight class rather than focusing solely on a long reign as champion. Aside from Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, and Amanda Nunes, most fighters have struggled to win a second title or to defend both titles after achieving this milestone.

In the aforementioned interview with Mark Bouris, Dricus du Plessis expressed his ambitious goal of accomplishing both feats: maintaining a long title reign while also winning the second belt:

"Ever since Conor McGregor did it, it became almost a norm of being a dominant champion going up and winning another title. What people have been struggling with it, defending and keeping both. So I would love to be the one to do that - winning both titles and defending them." [6:35]

Du Plessis' goal contrasts sharply with those of other fighters in his generation. Recently, featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan have expressed their desire to pursue a second title and retire early, rather than aiming to become long-reigning champions.