OPINION: Dricus finally has options for his UFC return
· Citizen
As the dust settled at the end of UFC326 in Las Vegas in the early hours of yesterday morning, South African mixed martial arts fans were more interested in one comment than the actual fights that took place.
Brazilian middleweight fighter Caio Borralho – who was involved in the joint-main event at the T-Mobile Arena – despatched of Dutchman Reinier de Ridder in a unanimous decision performance.
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Speaking to ringside commentator Joe Rogan at the end of his victory, he ended his interview with some words which provide some clarity on the future of former UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.
“I have one name on my mind, Joe. Dricus du Plessis!”
These words were like music to my ears, because DDP has been unusually quiet since his title loss to Russia’s Khamzat Chimaev in August last year.
Fighting options
There were rumours floating around in the last couple of weeks of Du Plessis finally making his return to the UFC octagon next month against American Brendan Allen. But an apparent minor injury to Du Plessis made this fight impossible.
Borralho’s call-out, along with this possible fight against Allen, is great news for a couple of reasons.
Not only does it give the South African options as to who he can fight on his way to reclaiming his middleweight strap, but it also shows his reputation is still very much intact after that heartbreaking, albeit lopsided, loss to the current champion.
Both of these opponents will provide the best possible “training” for DDP as they are extremely accomplished on the ground – an aspect that Du Plessis himself said was something he needs to work on.
And, he has apparently been working tirelessly on this in the gym since that loss seven months ago.
So, it’s high time he gets back into the octagon so we can all see if he has learnt from his mistakes.
Du Plessis has always been one to say he doesn’t care who he fights and I for one am echoing those sentiments now, because just like MMA fans from all over the globe, we want to see him back in action sooner rather than later.