Dricus Du Plessis’ Parents and Ethnicity: Is He African? Understanding the Roots Behind ‘StillKnocks’

Dricus Du Plessis (21-2) has made quite a name for himself in the UFC in the last couple of years. Making his debut inside the octagon in October 2020, against Markus Perez, he has managed to maintain an undefeated streak in the UFC with 7 wins and no losses.

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 do the UFC MW champ’s roots lie.

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 an incredible fighter with 19 of his 21 wins coming by finishes. This is undeniably an incredible feat as he holds a finish rate of about 90% with 22 professional fights in his career. His fight moniker ‘StillKnocks’ was rightly placed because of his ability to knock people unconscious. And his skills helped him take the UFC middleweight championship title home, to South Africa.

‘StillKnocks’ 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?

What is Dricus Du Plessis’ ethnicity and nationality?

Dricus ‘StillKnocks’ Du Plessis is speculated to have ancestors who migrated to South Africa from 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 30-year-old believes wholeheartedly that he is South African and takes pride in his identity of being South African. He claims to feel honored to represent his country of South Africa and was truly proud of becoming the first fighter to bring the UFC gold to his country.

The duo even struck an argument during the face-off at the UFC 305 pre-fight press conference. 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, Du Plessis has now put the MW championship belt on the line, as he gets ready to fight against ‘The Last Stylebender’. Needless to say, the fight at UFC 305 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 against someone who has already won the belt twice? Let us know how you feel the match will play out in the comments section below.