4 Best Opponents for Dricus Du Plessis' Next Fight

There is already widespread debate about who Dricus Du Plessis should fight next.

The South African won the UFC middleweight title with a narrow split decision defeat of Sean Strickland at Saturday's UFC 297 in Toronto, and he had no more than a minute to bask in his victory before commentator Daniel Cormier was asking him who he would like to defend the belt against. By that point, fans were also already chattering about the South African's future on social media.

It's understandable.

Du Plessis is a brand new champion, and beyond Strickland and Robert Whittaker—the biggest wins on his resume—he hasn't fought anybody else in the current middleweight Top 15. There are a host of fresh matchups awaiting him in the division, and several of them have the potential to do pretty big business for the UFC.

The promotion's matchmakers often work in mysterious ways, so we'll just have to wait and see who gets the call to challenge Du Plessis for the middleweight title first, but here are the four best options at the moment.

Of all the options available for Dricus Du Plessis' first title fight, none are quite as big as a potential showdown with former champion Israel Adesanya. If the UFC books this one, it would track as one of the biggest fights of the year.

Adesanya, who was born in Nigeria and now lives in New Zealand, has not been seen in the Octagon since he lost his title with a shocking decision loss to Strickland last September. Strickland's title shot was originally expected to go to Du Plessis, but the South African was still recovering from his fight with Whittaker and got passed over because he couldn't adhere to the UFC's schedule.

Up until that point, all signs pointed to an All-Africa Adesanya vs. Du Plessis title fight, and the pair were doing all they could to drum up interest in the matchup, trading virulent trash talk in interviews and on social media, and even coming face-to-face in the Octagon after the South African's defeat of Whittaker. All the makings of a blockbuster grudge match were there, but it all fell apart when Strickland leapfrogged Du Plessis and beat Adesanya.

Today, a Du Plessis vs. Adesanya fight would arguably be even bigger than before, as the South African is now the champion, and Adesanya, who remains the biggest star in the division, is on the comeback trail after briefly teasing a multiyear hiatus from competition.

With Conor McGregor's future once again uncertain, this would make a great headliner for the UFC's International Fight Week celebrations this summer, but the best option would be to save it for the promotion's long-awaited debut in Africa, whether it's in Nigeria or South Africa. Regrettably, and despite many promises to the contrary, Africa is clearly not a priority for the promotion. If it was, they would have visited the continent while African-born fighters Adesanya, Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou all had titles at the same time a few years back.

Du Plessis and Strickland's UFC 297 battle was close enough that people were talking about an immediate rematch before the pair left the Octagon. That includes Strickland, who quickly asked for the opportunity to "run it back" in his post-fight interview with commentator Daniel Cormier.

Generally speaking, immediate rematches only go to vanquished champions who had defended the title multiple times—like welterweight great Kamaru Usman, who was granted a quick shot at redemption after losing his title to Leon Edwards in 2022. Strickland, who was defending his title for the first time against Du Plessis and was only a two-fight win streak heading into the fight, does not meet that description.

However, the fight was close enough that a Strickland decision would have been justifiable. A rematch has merit on that basis. It would also probably be a decent business move for the UFC, as Strickland has become a big star for the promotion—probably the biggest in the division outside of Adesanya, who is still recovering from an injury and won't be available for a little while yet.

Jared Cannonier hasn't been mentioned much in the aftermath of UFC 297, but he is one of the top contenders in the middleweight division right now.

A former heavyweight from Alaska, Cannonier has already fought for the belt, coming up short in a 2022 clash with Adesanya. However, he has since rebounded with a split-decision win over Strickland and a brutal beatdown of Marvin Vettori, which saw him land almost 250 significant strikes en route to a unanimous decision win.

He is not as big a name as Adesanya or Strickland, and is recovering from an MCL injury that forced him out of a planned fight with Roman Dolidze late last year, but unlike either man, he is actually riding some wins—and quality ones at that.

He could definitely find himself in a title fight before the year is out, depending on the timeline for his recovery and the availability of other contenders.

Khamzat Chimaev doesn't deserve a middleweight title shot. Let's just get that out of the way. The Russian is riding a dubious decision win over a natural welterweight in Kamaru Usman, who accepted the matchup on just over a week's notice. He has also yet to beat anybody anywhere near the middleweight Top 15. If we're going by the rankings, he is at least two wins from a middleweight title shot—and that's being generous.

However, Chimaev is one of the most feared fighters in MMA right now, with a 13-0 record that includes some very impressive wins over quality opposition at welterweight. He could conceivably stumble into a scrap with Du Plessis, particularly if the likes of Adesanya, Strickland and Cannonier, all of whom are a little banged up at the moment, are unavailable.

Chimaev is himself recovering from illness, but he was quick to call Du Plessis out for a fight at UFC 300 in April—a card that still desperately needs a good headliner.

Du Plessis clearly doesn't view the Russian as a deserving contender, but hey, money talks.