Dricus Du Plessis fights like a man who’s never read an MMA textbook yet somehow got his hands on the cheat codes. His style is a beautiful disaster – everything a coach would tell you not to do, wrapped in a package that keeps winning world titles. Like a drunken master who stumbles his way to victory, the middleweight gold standard turns technical blunders into highlight reels, making seasoned analysts question whether they’ve been teaching fighting wrong all along. In the pristine world of UFC, he’s the chaotic variable that shouldn’t work but does, turning each fight into his action movie where the hero always survives the third act, no matter how dire things look.

Acknowledging this trait, Israel Adesanya didn’t hold back when discussing the South African on a podcast with Robert Whittaker, calling the champ “the best s–t fighter in the world.” Whittaker—who just like Izzy also fell short against Du Plessis—laughed and agreed with Adesanya’s assessment. But if they expected the criticism to rattle the man with real-life plot armor, they were mistaken. Instead of taking offense, Du Plessis wears it like a badge of honor. And why is that? We’ll let ‘DDP’ explain.

“When I saw Izzy and Whittaker saying they don’t know how this [my fighting style] works, ‘What is going on?’ I finished both these guys. That was something good because that means they still haven’t figured out how to beat me. That means they still haven’t figured out what went wrong,” Du Plessis told Ariel Helwani.

On the other hand, ‘DDP’ was quick to point out that while ‘Izzy’ was dismissive of his style of fighting, Whittaker was far more respectful and actually admired his style.

“Maybe some people still don’t and I know they don’t. I know like Robert Whittaker specifically is not a guy that ever went and said ‘This happened by accident’. He gave me my flowers in terms of saying ‘This guy fights a certain way and you have to be ready to face that,'” he added.

Of course, what makes ‘DDP’ so dangerous is that he is as strong as an ox, as unstoppable as a machine, and just has the courage and gladiatorial mindset to go all offense all of the time. The South African can just overwhelm his opponents with sheer pressure and offense. And the champ will desperately be hoping that he is just as un-figure-out-able in his next fight.

Why Dricus Du Plessis’ next fight may be the most important of his career?

Dricus Du Plessis’ will look to cement his legacy as perhaps the most prolific 185lbs in UFC history when he steps into the Octagon next. After all, it is not every day one takes on the most hyped-up fighter in the history of the sport, who is also undefeated, and in his prime, in a title clash no less. While there hasn’t been an official announcement from the UFC yet, it is almost guaranteed that Khamzat Chimaev is next in line for ‘DDP’.

Du Plessis has already slayed Whittaker and Adesanya- the two best middleweights of his generation. If he can also beat Chimaev and snap the Emirati’s undefeated streak, there is no doubt that he will be up there with Anderson Silva as perhaps the greatest middleweight of all time.

Not quite at Silva’s level yet. ‘The Spider’, of course, is in the overall GOAT conversations and won sixteen consecutive fights in the UFC. But on the other hand, ‘DDP’ has faced and beaten much stiffer competition than Silva ever did. But a few more dominant wins, especially if they come against some of the young and hungry lions like Nassourdine Imavov and Caio Borralho will certainly help make the case that he has overtaken Silva as the GOAT.

That is why the Chimaev fight is so important for Du Plessis- it could play a huge part in deciding his legacy. What do you think about Dricus Du Plessis’ thoughts on Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker laughing at his fighting style?