UFC confirms Dricus’ return to octagon

Dricus du Plessis is on his way back to the UFC octagon. (Photo: Charmaine Visser)

Dricus du Plessis will once again wreak havoc in the octagon on July 18 when he faces Kamaru Usman in Oklahoma City.

The South African’s last UFC fight was last August when he lost his middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev in Chicago.

UFC bosses have confirmed that the upcoming duel between Du Plessis and Usman (a former welterweight champion) will be the main fight of the evening at the Paycom Centre.

The defeat against Chimaev was the South African’s first defeat in the UFC octagon. In the past, he has played with renowned opponents such as Sean Strickland, Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya, among others.

When Strickland beat Chimaev in May to wrest the middleweight title from the Emirati fighter (who was born in Chechnya), Du Plessis also showed that he is a master of fistfights.

“The fight went exactly as I thought it would. It’s incredibly difficult to keep Strickland down and he tired Khamzat,” said the South African.

“Congratulations, I think that makes me the champion again,” he jokingly concluded.

He also promised earlier that he will make his mark in the UFC again.

“I will be back to fight for the belt. As South Africans we will always rise (above circumstances) and persevere through setbacks. I will come back stronger and better than ever. We will stand again and we will keep fighting.”