Why Dricus du Plessis winning the middleweight title was the best outcome for the UFC: Exploring the possibilities

At UFC 297, Dricus du Plessis achieved his lifelong dream of capturing UFC gold when he defeated Sean Strickland for the middleweight title. While the outcome of the bout was contested by many due to how competitive the matchup was, the result may actually be favorable for the promotion.

In enthroning himself as the middleweight champion, du Plessis has become South Africa's first-ever UFC titleholder. In doing so, he has opened up a whole host of opportunities. Despite Dana White disputing the bout's outcome, it is likely that he and the promotion's other executives see the money-making potential.

While Strickland has the loyalty of a large chunk of fans who occupy the MMA X/Twitter space, he was a liability for more than one reason. The champion, on the other hand, could prove far more useful to the promotion.

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Dricus du Plessis is a bundle of opportunities

The UFC has always been keen on tapping into potential markets. For example, the great Georges St-Pierre was the promotion's primary channel into the Canadian market, headlining many lucrative pay-per-views in his home country. However, this isn't exclusive to hometown heroes.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, both of whom are Russian, have captivated the Muslim world and have been used by the UFC as the promotion's marquee attractions in the Middle East. When it comes to Dricus du Plessis, the new middleweight champion, South Africa is a well of potential.

The UFC has always been interested in tapping into the African market, but despite once having champions in Francis Ngannou, Israel Adesanya, and Kamaru Usman, it never explored the opportunity. Instead, 'The Last Stylebender' has often been used to bolster Australian and New Zealander cards instead.

Du Plessis, however, commands a level of fanfare in South Africa that cannot be ignored. Not only does he live and train in South Africa, but he is also a former EFC two-division champion, having captured the South African promotion's welterweight and middleweight titles.

Check out the reaction in Pretoria, Dricus du Plessis' hometown, to his UFC 297 title win in the clip below:

He is a proud South African that his fellow countrymen can get behind, as well as a homegrown talent who has never strayed from his gym in Pretoria. Furthermore, if the UFC has infrastructure concerns regarding arenas and stadiums to host pay-per-views, there is no better choice than South Africa.

The 'Rainbow Nation' had the facilities to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. A UFC pay-per-view headlined by a hometown hero who is also the reigning champion in his division and also once reigned over the country's biggest mixed martial arts promotion is a check that writes itself.

And on the topic of possible pay-per-view success, there is no bigger matchup than a potential clash between 'Stillknocks' and Adesanya. Upon capturing middleweight gold, du Plessis was quick to issue a challenge to Adesanya in his post-fight interview at UFC 297.

It is a bout defined by bad blood between the pair, fueled by du Plessis' past comments about being a better representative of Africa than Adesanya, Usman, and Ngannou. Few things draw the attention of MMA fans more than feuds with a deeply personal flavor.

It is why out of all the UFC events Conor McGregor has headlined, UFC 229 is the most successful. It was due to his rivalry with Nurmagomedov, who was no star prior. Similarly, the most sold pay-per-view Jon Jones has ever headlined is UFC 214, which featured his rematch with bitter rival Daniel Cormier.

A title fight against Adesanya in South Africa, with du Plessis as the principal headliner, could prove to be a high-selling pay-per-view if the UFC is willing to take the risk.

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Sean Strickland is a loose cannon in a way that Dricus du Plessis simply isn't

Sean Strickland is married to controversy. His lack of a filter causes him to utter anything that comes to mind, regardless of how distasteful his words are. Ahead of his UFC 297 title fight with Dricus du Plessis, he sparked the ire of mainstream media.

While honoring his media obligations, Strickland unleashed an expletive-filled rant teeming with bigotry, homophobia, and transphobia upon being questioned by a journalist on his past remarks. His comments drew outrage and even led to calls for ESPN, which is owned by Disney, to speak out against Strickland's remarks.

This is especially true given that Disney often presents itself as a bastion of inclusivity and progressivism. This reflects poorly on ESPN, least of all when Strickland makes homophobic remarks despite the co-main event of UFC 297 having featured two lesbian fighters, Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva.

This is also not to mention that Strickland was in gross violation of the promotion's own athlete conduct policy. The former 185-pound champion is also on record making sexist remarks about women, claiming that they have no place in the American workforce.

Whether Strickland is taking aim at other countries for their stricter gun laws and using transphobic slurs or hurling homophobic slurs at his opponent, he poses a public relations risk to the UFC. The promotion exerted a tremendous amount of effort in gaining mainstream acceptance.

"I will take your f****** soul, you understand? You f****** p****? Yeah, you f****** laugh, you f****** f****t!"

Check out Sean Strickland hurling (1:21) homophobic slurs at Dricus du Plessis in the clip below:

For years, MMA was not regarded as a real sport. It was treated as an afterthought, even by other combat sports. An unhinged Strickland as the middleweight champion could have undone some of the work the UFC has done to position itself as the kind of company with whom ESPN does business.

Perhaps the most concerning detail about Strickland was how trigger-happy he was. Due to the mountain of unresolved childhood trauma he has, Strickland's response to du Plessis' retaliatory trash talk was to physically assault him at UFC 296, causing a cage-side brawl.

While entertaining, it could have very easily gone wrong, with du Plessis sustaining injuries that would have led to the cancelation of the pair's UFC 297 bout, which was the event headliner. This was within the realm of possibility, as Strickland later threatened to stab du Plessis if he dared repeat his trash talk about his childhood.

"If you bring that sh*t up again, I will f****** stab you."

Check out Sean Strickland threatening (0:05) to stab Dricus du Plessis in the clip below:

He was open about his willingness to cause a bout cancelation due to his perception that du Plessis had crossed a personal line. This could have potentially led to the cancelation of their bout and worse had du Plessis continued prodding at Strickland, and the latter made good on his promise to stab him.

That is a level of volatility that would have cost the UFC at some point. Perhaps not with du Plessis specifically, but with another opponent in the future wherein Strickland is still the middleweight champion. It may very well be that the UFC is better off with du Plessis as the kingpin at 185 pounds.