In the latest episode of African Voices Changemakers, CNN’s Larry Madowo meets Dricus du Plessis, a professional kickboxer hailing from Hartbeespoort Dam who made history as the first ever South African to become Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is continuing its rise on the African continent. Du Plessis’ win came in January in Toronto, when he took the title on a split decision from the reigning champion American Sean Strickland. He talks about the victory, “We are still not over it and I don’t think we’re going to get over it anytime soon. It’s a massive win for me. And more importantly, it’s a massive win for South Africa and it’s a massive honour for us to be a country now represented in a sport that we were never seen as a force to be reckoned with.”
Du Plessis’ wrestling style, with powerful kickboxing blows was explosive against Strickland, and he speaks about how their styles differ, “I’m a more complete fighter than him. That was what won me that fight. And I was hungrier, and you could see it. He was moving backwards the whole time just behind his jab. I was pressing forward, trying to engage in the whole time. I landed takedowns, I landed five takedowns. I landed a lot more kicks.”
Du Plessis not only brands himself as the first South African champion, but also the first African champion, which has caused some controversy. He explains, “I mean there’s a lot of fighters with African heritage and champions with African heritage, but I am the only fighter, the only champion in the history of the UFC that was born, raised, residing, and trained in Africa. And I still live here. And that is special.” He continues, “Of course they’re African born and that’s their heritage and always will be. But I’m the only one that resides here. My whole team is from here. And I still live here today. I live here every single day. I have only lived here, and I’m trained in Africa.”
Africa is the only continent yet to host a UFC event. Du Plessis says he is keen to change that, “Absolutely. I would love to add first just bring it to Africa. But bring it to my home country, bring it to South Africa. I think it will be massive. We’ve had the Rugby World Cup, we’ve had the Soccer World Cup. This will be, I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Du Plessis says his confidence comes from South African grit, but also from being underestimated as a technical fighter, “I don’t think the world realises what we are willing to do to win. We saw that in the Rugby World Cup. We’ve seen that in so many aspects and we saw that in me now. I’ve been written off in every single fight. This guy doesn’t fight good, he’s not good enough. As soon as he gets the top 10, he’s going to lose. […] We are willing to do whatever it takes. South Africans, we are built different. I always say we are built different mentally, physically, only South Africans understand this, if we are representing that flag, no matter what the sport, no matter what it is.”
The success of du Plessis is inspiring young fighters all over the globe. He tells Madowo how people can get into the sport, “Any form of martial arts. That’s what I always say. And that’s what’s so incredible for me, the influence that this fight had. I’m talking about small towns where they tell me the wrestling gym, the numbers doubled within the first month after my fight. A karate gym. It doesn’t really matter what type of martial arts it is, just get going in. Even if you don’t want to pursue a career in this just for fun, it teaches you so much about life, discipline, hard work. You get out what you put in.”
He continues, “You can be as badass as you want, but at the end of the day, if you don’t know the techniques, if you don’t put in the work, if you don’t know how to be in control of your mind, your aggression, your emotions, you can’t be successful in this.”
Finally, looking ahead, du Plessis says that he is keen to defend his title and maybe take a second championship, “Defending my belt, that’s the immediate future. Defending my belt maybe once, twice, three times. I would like to defend my belt three times and then see what’s happening in the weight above me. Try and get a go for that second world title. It’s something that it’s in the future, not the near future, but it’s in the future plans.”
African Voices Changemakers airs on CNN International at the following times:
- Saturday 24th August 2024 at 0830 SAST and 1200 SAST
- Sunday 25th August 2024 at 0430 SAST and 1900 SAST
- Monday 26th August 2024 at 0400 SAST
- Saturday 31st August 2024 at 0830 SAST and 1200 SAST
- Sunday 1st September 2024 at 0430 SAST and 1900 SAST
- Monday 2nd September 2024 0400 SAST
https://edition.cnn.com/specials/africa/african-voices-changemakers
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Author: Ntandoyenkosinabadala Makhoba from Burson Africa on behalf of CNN.
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