Dricus du Plessis is coming. Nine months after losing his UFC middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev, South Africa’s finest MMA export is edging closer to his return — and the fight world is watching closely.
“Stillknocks” has not stepped inside the Octagon since UFC 319 in Chicago on 16 August 2025, where Chimaev dominated him across five rounds to claim the middleweight belt. It was a painful night — one of the most lopsided title bouts in UFC history. But du Plessis, who built his entire career on proving doubters wrong, is not done yet. Not even close.
With du Plessis recently appearing at UFC 328 in New York and hinting that a fight announcement is near, JPS breaks down the most likely matchups waiting for him when he walks back through that Octagon door.
Where Things Stand for DDP
Du Plessis turned 32 in January and holds a professional MMA record of 23 wins and 3 losses. His UFC reign was nothing short of remarkable — defeating Sean Strickland for the belt in Toronto, submitting former champion Israel Adesanya in Perth, and then beating Strickland again in Sydney. He was genuinely one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet before Chimaev dismantled him.
The loss stung. Chimaev’s relentless wrestling neutralised du Plessis almost completely, with judges scoring the bout 50-44 across the board. His coach, Morne Visser, publicly argued that referee Marc Goddard should have stood the fight up more often during Chimaev’s periods of low activity on the ground. Whether you agree or not, the loss exposed a tactical gap that du Plessis has spent months trying to address.
“For me, we needed to fix some things, obviously, and I’ve spent some time now doing that,” du Plessis told Fight Forecast earlier this year. “I’ll be ready for April. I would love to be on that April card, that Miami card. There’s no opponent yet, there’s no contract yet. We don’t have any of that — but whoever, let’s go.”
The Miami card came and went without DDP on it, but his appearance at UFC 328 in Newark suggests the return is close. Very close.
Option 1: Kamaru Usman — The Africa vs Africa Superfight
This is the fight that is generating the most buzz right now, and for good reason.
Earlier in 2026, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman publicly revealed that the UFC offered him a bout against du Plessis. “The other things were presented to me, like DDP. DDP was presented to me,” Usman said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast. “One thing about me is when they call me and say this guy or that guy, I say yes. It has to be meaningful — if it gets me to the title, that’s what I want.”
Usman was pushing hard for a welterweight title fight against Islam Makhachev, but with that bout appearing unlikely for now, the UFC is steering the Nigerian-American legend toward 185 pounds instead. Most recently, du Plessis’ own gym, CIT Performance Institute in South Africa, reposted a social media report claiming “Kamaru Usman vs Dricus du Plessis is rumoured to be in the works.”
Gyms don’t do that by accident.
The storylines write themselves. Two African-born champions. Usman — who gave Chimaev one of his toughest nights at UFC 294 — versus du Plessis, who was thoroughly outworked by the same man. A win for either fighter immediately sets up a title rematch with Chimaev. This is a pay-per-view calibre matchup in the truest sense.
👉 JPS Verdict: The most compelling fight on the table for DDP right now. If the UFC can get Usman to commit to 185, this gets made.
Option 2: Brendan Allen — The Ranked Stepping Stone
Earlier this year, a du Plessis vs Brendan Allen matchup was reportedly being targeted for UFC 327 in Miami on 11 April 2026. While that fight never materialised officially, it tells you something about how the UFC viewed du Plessis’ re-entry point into contention.
Allen is a legitimate top-five middleweight. The American is coming off a TKO win over Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver in October 2025, and he has been calling for this fight loudly. “You never know what that dude — what someone says in public and what they say behind closed doors sometimes don’t align,” Allen told TMZ Sports, suggesting du Plessis was sending mixed signals about the matchup.
A win over Allen would be statement-making without being title-shot level, allowing du Plessis to rebuild momentum and demonstrate the improvements he made in camp. Allen is dangerous enough that a convincing finish would draw serious attention from the UFC and Chimaev’s team.
👉 JPS Verdict: A solid, credible option — but perhaps not the marquee return that du Plessis and his fanbase are hungry for.
Option 3: Sean Strickland Trilogy — The Title Fight Nobody Saw Coming
Everything changed on 9 May 2026.
Sean Strickland — the man du Plessis beat twice — walked into UFC 328 in Newark and pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year, defeating Khamzat Chimaev by split decision to reclaim the UFC middleweight title. Strickland had called his shot publicly, saying he was “probably the only one that could beat Chimaev,” and he delivered.
Du Plessis himself had backed his old rival going into that fight. Now, almost overnight, the middleweight title picture has been completely redrawn.
A Strickland vs du Plessis trilogy is now a genuine title fight possibility — and it would be one of the most compelling trilogies in UFC history. DDP beat Strickland in Toronto to win the belt, beat him again in Sydney to defend it, and now “Tarzan” is back on top. The unfinished business angle practically books itself.
The complication? Du Plessis likely needs at least one tune-up win to re-enter the title conversation formally. A dominant performance against Usman or another top contender would make a trilogy fight almost impossible to deny. And if Strickland gets a unification or big-name defence first, the window only grows larger for DDP to build his case.
👉 JPS Verdict: The most explosive option on the board — and with Strickland as champion, suddenly very realistic. If DDP wins his return fight convincingly, a trilogy title shot could come sooner than anyone expected.
The Bottom Line
Dricus du Plessis’ road back to the middleweight title is still being written, but the destination is clear in his own mind. He wants that belt back.
The most realistic path? A high-profile return against Kamaru Usman — a superfight with genuine title implications that the UFC is reportedly already trying to build. A win there puts du Plessis straight back into championship conversation, no questions asked.
One thing is certain: when “Stillknocks” returns, he has declared it “the most important fight of my life.” That kind of fire, from a fighter of his calibre, is something the middleweight division — and MMA fans around the world — should not underestimate.
Watch this space, JPS family. DDP is coming back!
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📸 Images via UFC / Dricus Du Plessis / Getty Images
