"I hate that these are so fire" - Fans react as Dricus Du Plessis is set to wear his South Africa-themed custom shorts again at UFC 312 

As Dricus du Plessis prepares for his rematch with Sean Strickland at UFC 312 on February 9 in Sydney, Australia, he's set to don custom shorts showcasing South African colors and patterns, reflecting his national pride. Now, fans have expressed their feelings towards this choice.

The reigning middleweight champion first wore the custom shorts for his title defense against Israel Adesanya. Custom shorts for champions and select fighters emerged as a recurring theme in 2024. Alex Pereira, Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Adesanya, Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, Zhang Weili, and Ilia Topuria are among those who've worn custom shorts inside the octagon.

The X account @mma_orbit shared the news of du Plessis' apparel for UFC 312, drawing fan reactions.

Reacting to the news that du Plessis will use the same South African-themed shorts he wore at UFC 305, most fans were on board. One fan wrote:

"I hate that these are so fire"

Others commented:

"Those give that extra pop and extra plot armor"

"Shorts go hard tbh, the country themed ones are the best"

Check out the fan reactions below:

Fan reactions to Dricus du Plessis' shorts for UFC 312. [Screenshots via @mma_orbit on X]

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Dricus du Plessis argues against Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall title unification bout

Dricus du Plessis has reservations about a heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. 'Stillknocks' holds both fighters in high regard, but doesn't want to see the fight as Jones is in the tail-end of his career, while Aspinall is in his prime.

In an interview with Mark Bouris, the South African champion said:

“It’s a fight I don’t need to see because the world wants to see this. I love Aspinall. I think he’s phenomenal. In the heavyweight division, he has grappling, wrestling, and incredible striking – you don’t see that with heavyweights.”

He added:

“Jon Jones is years ahead of everybody, especially at heavyweight, until Aspinall came along. I mean, you saw what he did to Ciryl Gane. Aspinall is young, hungry, and you have Jones, who is definately at the end of his career, 38 years old. I don't need to see this. I want Jon Jones to retire unbeaten... And Aspinall can go on to be the next big thing.”

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (30:08):