The former UFC middleweight champion will first take time away from the sport to work on a few things.
South Africa’s former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis may have relinquished his title to Russia’s Khamzat Chimaev, but according to his coach Morne Visser, DDP is far from done.
The 31-year-old will now go back to the drawing board to address the flaws that led to him losing the belt. Wrestling seems to be the biggest issue for Du Plessis, as witnessed in his fight on Sunday.
Currently, the middleweight division is heavily stacked with plenty of fighters standing in line to take on Chimaev for the belt.
Here we take a look at four potential opponents who could be next in line for Du Plessis, as he plots his way back to challenging for the middleweight title.
Reinier de Ridder
The Dutchman is a former training partner of Du Plessis and stylistically this is the fight that makes the most sense as a comeback for the South African.
The UFC’s No 5 ranked middleweight is a former ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion with a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and is undefeated in five fights since joining the UFC.
With a professional record of 21 wins and only two losses, he has a world class ground game, but can also stand up and brawl if needs be.
Anthony Hernandez
The No 6 ranked Hernandez – although being in the UFC for some time now – has thrown his hat into the middleweight title picture of late thanks to some devastating victories in the last year.
With a professional fight record of 15 wins and 2 losses, the 31-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, faces De Ridder in October, with the winner possibly set to face Du Plessis for the No 1 contender’s spot to fight for the title.
Nassourdine Imavov
The Russia-born Frenchman is a former UFC middleweight No 1 contender and almost looks a certainty to be next in line for Chimaev, having been knocking loudly on the title challenger door.
Just like Du Plessis, Imavov is a big middleweight who likes to keep the fight standing, but also has some holes in his armour when it comes to wrestling.
With a fight record of 16 wins and four losses, and riding a four-fight win streak, this boxer will make for a very entertaining fight with DDP.
Caio Borralho
This Brazilian is a true martial artist, boasting black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and is also a brown belt in Judo.
A very dangerous fighter, the 32-year-old has a professional fight record of 17 wins and only one loss and is currently on a seven-fight win-streak in the UFC.
Fighting out of the world famous Fighting Nerds gym in Brazil, eight of his fights have gone the distance – something that would not excite Du Plessis.
He was also the back-up opponent for DDP’s last fight against Chimaev.
