The UFC middleweight champion puts his title on the line this weekend.
In the cutthroat world of professional sport there are a few things that separate the good ones from the great ones.
On Sunday morning (SA time) one of South Africa’s great sportsmen will put his body, reputation and title on the line in one of the most anticipated fights in mixed martial arts (MMA) history.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis steps into the octagon at the United Centre in Chicago at UFC319.
Standing in his way in his quest to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time is undefeated Russian Khamzat Chimaev.
Putting aside the fact that this has the makings of being an instant classic, it brings me to my point of the difference between good and great.
A good sportsman will be satisfied to reach the heights of becoming a world champion – which, don’t get me wrong, is a magnificent feat in itself.
A great sportsman though is someone who feeds off of these accolades, using them as mere stepping stones on the path to greater things.
Du Plessis is a prime example of this.
What next for the champion?
Having made his UFC debut just under five years ago, the South African has a 9-0 winning record, which includes winning the UFC middleweight title and successfully defending it two more times.
Money, fame and bragging rights aside, this is simply not good enough for Du Plessis.
When he joined the organisation in October 2020, his mission was not to be a UFC champion. It was to be the greatest.
At 31 years old, he still has a few good years in him and if he walks away with the title on Sunday, only one question remains: Where is the ceiling for this man?
Does he stay in the middleweight division for more title defences or does he go up a weight class to light heavyweight in his quest for another belt?
And while he has a way to go to even be mentioned in the same breath as UFC legends like Jon Jones, George Saint Pierre and Anderson Silva, his positive winning attitude is setting him up to be among these legends when he eventually hangs up his gloves.
