Former UFC title challenger proposes octagon comeback for Dricus Du Plessis rematch after pair troll each other over UFC 305
19/08/2024 18:09
Dricus Du Plessis’ unlikely rise to the top of the middleweight division has made him the subject of countless callouts in recent months.
He landed a controversial split decision win over Sean Strickland to claim the gold back in January. And on Saturday night at UFC 305 he defeated the legendary Israel Adesanya in his first defence of the world title.
But despite his impressive run of wins in the last few years, the jury is still out on Du Plessis for some fighters and fans. One of those is a former opponent, who has since left the UFC and now wants to come back for a one-off world title rematch.
- Who is Dricus Du Plessis?Meet the UFC brawler putting South Africa on the MMA map
Dricus Du Plessis trolls Darren Till for picking Israel Adesanya in UFC 305 fight
Prior to his fight with Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis was a strong underdog in his first middleweight world title defence. It was believed that his rival’s experience at the world level and superior striking skill would be enough to see the title return to him for a rare third reign.
Many fans and experts picked Adesanya, with even Du Plessis’ old rival Darren Till one of the major names. “I had quite a bit of money in my betting account with @BlockBetGG,” he wrote afterwards. “I put most of it on Izzy, in other words. I'm f***ed… Argh well. We go again soon…”
Du Plessis then took to social media to troll Till, asking him in a tongue-in-cheek message “any advice on beating Izzy? Please coach me, any advice will help.”
Darren Till calls out Dricus Du Plessis for one-off title fight
Du Plessis’s response clearly got under Till’s skin, with the Brit responding by mocking his fight style while congratulating him for his victory. The pair met in 2022 at UFC 282, and the current champion did struggle early before eventually getting the fight down and landing a finish in the third.
Till clearly holds some memories of that bout, which ended up being his last under the UFC banner, responding to Du Plessis’ tweet by joking that “You’re still s***, your style just works so good for you… Congrats though I am genuinely happy for you… You’re still s*** though…”
And the former world title contender really got fans excited when he suggested that he return to the promotion for a rematch with the champion.
“I might come back the UFC just to beat DDP & leave again,” he wrote in a tweet that was seen 1.4million times in a day. “What you saying Dana White, Hunter [Campbell]?”
Darren Till eyeing boxing return before UFC comeback
While he is still one of the bigger names at 185lb, Darren Till has still not yet committed to a return to MMA. His options are open for a number of big fights across disciplines, and his star power appears to have remained strong despite a difficult few years in and out of the octagon.
There is still a feeling in fan circles that a grudge fight between he and Mike Perry, either in bare-knuckle boxing, traditional boxing or MMA, could draw big money. And he is also eyeing a fight on Misfits Boxing after a controversial debut in Dubai earlier this summer.
He has recently been engaged in a war of words with Misfits Boxing’s light-heavyweight champion Anthony Taylor, who is a divisive figure in the world of crossover and influencer boxing. The pair have gone back-and-forth on X, much to the delight of fans.
And they could be on a collision course if Taylor can retain his belt against Gabriel Silva on August 31 in Dublin. The American’s meeting with the son of Anderson Silva is his second title defence in just three weeks after knocking out Karate Combat veteran Samuel Ericsson in Miami earlier this month.
- Who is Israel Adesanya?Step inside the career of the ‘Last Stylebender’ ahead of his UFC 305 main event
