Dricus Du Plessis Ethnicity & Parents: What Are His African Roots?

Dricus Du Plessis has remained unbeaten in the UFC, and in this journey, he’s beaten top contenders and more than a couple of former champions, establishing himself as a top star in the promotion. Du Plessis is looking to maintain his winning ways this weekend when he locks horns for the second time against Sean Strickland at UFC 312.

However, when ‘Stillknocks’ targeted Israel Adesanya and began the ‘real African’ debate, the fighting community began to wonder about the origins of Du Plessis. Today, let’s find out where the UFC MW champ’s roots lie.

What ethnicity is Dricus Du Plessis?

A South African by nationality, Dricus du Plessis is an Afrikaner by ethnicity. For the unversed, Afrikaners are a very common ethnic group in South Africa who have their origins in Europe. While Afrikaners are spread around du Plessis’ whole country, his birthplace of Welkom is the hometown of more than just his ethnic group.

In fact, Welkom is filled with people who belong to a variety of Asian communities, Indian communities, black Africans, and even other kinds of white and colored people whose ancestors migrated from other regions around the world. Now, let’s take a look at information on the people in Dricus du Plessis’ family. Here’s what we know.

Who are Dricus du Plessis’ parents?

The middleweight title challenger was born on 14th January 1994 in Hatfield, Pretoria, to Japie and Gerda Du Plessis. Both his parents attended Theunissen Hoërskool, in Theunissen, South Africa, where they became familiar with each other. However, Dricus Du Plessis wasn’t their only child.

‘Stillknocks’ grew up with two brothers, Neil Du Plessis and WC Du Plessis. All three brothers have found success in their respective careers, with WC Du Plessis, holding the position of CEO at Orzella Investments and Neil Du Plessis having a professional career as an attorney while also competing in MMA and ‘StillKnocks’ fighting for the UFC championship.

Dricus du Plessis is undeniably an incredible fighter and rightly deserves to compete amongst the top guys in the sport. However, he has been in a controversy about calling himself the ‘real African’ champion. That said, he is indeed South African. But where are his ancestors from? Let’s discover the real facts about his African origin.

The origins and African connections of ‘Stillknocks’

Dricus ‘StillKnocks’ Du Plessis is speculated to have ancestors who migrated to South Africa from France. His surname, ‘du Plessis’, primarily originates from the minor places situated in the Northern part of France. The reason for the migration was religious persecution which led them to leave their home country of France and settle in Brandenburg-Prussia. However, the 31-year-old believes wholeheartedly that he is South African and takes pride in his identity. Dricus du Plessis claims to feel honored to represent his country of South Africa and is truly proud of becoming the first fighter to bring UFC gold to his country.

When Israel Adesanya faced off against Dricus du Plessis, they both got into an argument at the UFC 305 pre-fight press conference about the latter’s roots. But ‘Stillknocks’ stood tall in his belief that he was the ‘real African’. He said, “Stating facts. Where do I reside? What’s my postal code? Where do I train? Where do I live? Where was I born? In South Africa. Still there. Still training. And I want this belt from South Africa. I didn’t try anywhere else. That was the only thing I stated.”

That being said, Dricus Du Plessis has now put the 185-pound championship belt on the line against Sean Strickland in a rematch as he looks to diminish the doubts people had about his last fight against ‘Tarzan’. Needless to say, the fight at UFC 312 will keep the fight fans glued to their seats with the heat between the fighters rising every single moment.

Will the South African champion be able to defend the belt for a second time in a row? Let us know how you feel the matchup will play out in the comments section below.