Dricus Du Plessis has been managing to amass frequent wins even though people have been making fun of his awkward striking skills on the internet. And UFC 312 witnessed one such moment that converted the audience’s boos to cheers in just 5 rounds, as DDP defeated Sean Strickland and defended his middleweight championship belt for the 2nd time. Now, the world of mixed martial arts keeps wondering about the next opponent for ‘Stillknocks’.

So we asked OpenAI’s ChatGPT to predict the next possible bouts for Du Plessis. And the artificial intelligence gave two names that had the potential to lift the South African champion’s stardom by orders of magnitude. Let’s take a look at what the AI had to say. 

Dricus Du Plessis’ ultimate grappling test against Khamzat Chimaev

Before Du Plessis made any other moves, he agreed that he needed to make sure ”that there is no question that I’m the GOAT of the middleweight division.” And for that, he has to take on Khamzat Chimaev. Dana White has already given the biggest hints about the matchup and the details will be revealed pretty soon. But DDP and ‘Borz’ are already paced to meet in the Octagon. 

And how does Dricus Du Plessis plan to defeat Khamzat Chimaev? During the post-fight press conference for UFC 312, he said, “I’ll just out-wrestle him, that’s the game plan.” The Chechen Wolf is infamous for his elite wrestling. His last bout against Robert Whittaker showed the world everything about his speed and strength. Not only did he win the bout with a submission and retain his undefeated spree, but he also broke ‘The Reaper’s mandible while cranking his face. Ever since the win, Chimaev has been waiting for a chance to take a shot at the middleweight title.

Chimaev currently stands as the #1 middleweight contender, and his being the next title challenger makes more sense than anything else. This would be a fight that would test Du Plessis’ skills against an elite pressure wrestler. And a win against him would definitely put DDP on the pedestal of the best middleweight fighter in the world. 

However, the artificial intelligence had one more name for Du Plessis. And it was probably based on the callout that the middleweight champion sent forth after defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 312. Yes indeed! We’re talking about a matchup between Du Plessis and Alex Pereira. 

Legacy fight against Alex Pereira at 205 lbs

‘Stillknocks’ shouting out, “Is there no one else?” during the post-fight interview painted quite a picture. At the time, Pereira couldn’t comprehend DDP’s words because of the language barrier. But once that wall was broken down, the man with the hands of stone agreed to fight but in the 205-pound division. That’s probably why the AI pushed forward the matchup between DDP and Pereira. And if Du Plessis can manage to gain weight and step on to the next weight category, a fight for the light heavyweight belt against ‘Poatan’ would forever put him as one of the greatest fighters to ever exist. 

Pereira is already a double champion in the UFC. The kind of striking he displays is a horror show for the one facing him. On top of that, he has won all 5 of his last matches and won 4 of them via knockouts. DDP, on the other hand, has gone on an undefeated streak in the UFC. But both of the fighters have secured wins over Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya. That has somehow shown that the fighters have a similar footing against each other. 

This matchup would test Du Plessis’ awkward but effective striking prowess against Pereira’s accurate kickboxing techniques. And in case the South African manages to secure a win against the light heavyweight champion, it’d indeed be a major boost to his legacy. Well, the fighting community would actually start calling him a legend, don’t you agree? The only hurdle that remains obstructing this fight is the challenges in their respective divisions.

Du Plessis has more than just Chimaev waiting at 185 lbs, while Pereira has Ankalaev chomping at the bits. If White decides that Du Plessis should defend against the likes of Chimaev and Nassourdine Imavov before a ‘champ champ’ fight, this fight will not happen any time soon. Plus, Pereira is chasing Jon Jones at heavyweight too.

Who do you think Du Plessis should fight next? Is there another fighter you want the middleweight champion to share the Octagon with? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.