Dricus Du Plessis admits UFC 297 weight cut was not easy: “I made the weight five minutes before”
Dricus Du Plessis didn’t have the easiest weight cut for his UFC 297 title fight against Sean Strickland.
Du Plessis is set to headline UFC 297 on Saturday night in Toronto opposite Strickland for the middleweight title. It’s an intriguing matchup, and currently, the oddsmakers have it practically a pick’em with a slight lean toward Strickland.
On Friday morning, both Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland made weight to make the middleweight title fight official. However, speaking on the UFC’s weigh-in show, the South African was asked if it was an easy weight cut and he revealed there were some struggles.
“Absolutely not,” Du Plessis said when asked if it was an easy weight cut. “I was really happy to get on that scale. I made the weight five minutes before 9, walked down, (and) got on the scale. As a professional, feeling like a champion, I knew tomorrow night I am becoming the new middleweight champion of the world.”
Although Dricus Du Plessis didn’t have the easiest weight cut going, he has full confidence he will KO Sean Strickland at UFC 297 to become the new middleweight champion.
If Du Plessis does knockout Strickland and becomes the new champ, he already has his plan in mind of defending his title for the first time at UFC 300.
“Listen, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from this industry it is don’t say anything about after a fight. Because they will crucify you whether you’re injured or not. But, let me tell you this: [UFC 300] would be ideal. That would be an ideal situation. I would love to fight UFC 300. As a champion, it doesn’t get much much bigger than that. Except if we take it to South Africa,” Du Plessis said at UFC 297 media day.
Dricus Du Plessis (20-2) is a perfect 6-0 in the UFC and coming off a second-round knockout over Robert Whittaker in July, which was a surprise. The South African is the former KSW welterweight and middleweight champion and holds notable wins over Derek Brunson, Darren Till, and Brad Tavares among others.
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