What Is Dricus du Plessis’ Nationality and Religion? Does the UFC Middleweight Star Train in Africa?

Dricus du Plessis has made a name for himself in the UFC. He is currently undefeated in the promotion and has beaten big-name fighters such as Derek Brunson, Darren Till, and Robert Whittaker. ‘Stillknocks’ burst into the UFC scene in 2020, defeating Markus Perez on his promotional debut.

Furthermore, he racked up a 6-fight undefeated winning streak, which propelled him to championship contention. Dricus du Plessis will now challenge Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 for the middleweight championship. However, before that, let us take a look at his backstory.

Dricus du Plessis: Who are his parents and his brothers?

Dricus du Plessis was born to parents Japie and Gerda du Plessis and has two brothers by the name Niel du Plessis and WC du Plessis. He is the youngest in his household. Even though Japie and Gerda have highly successful children in various fields, they are rarely pictured together. The couple have retired and spends their time in South Africa. Dricus du Plessis has shared many posts in appreciation of his parents on social media. As a way of celebrating Mother’s Day, the UFC fighter shared a series of pictures last year.

On the other hand, he has two brothers. One of them, Niel du Plessis, is also an MMA fighter. Niel began his MMA career in 2016 and has made a name for himself in the South African-based promotion, Extreme Fighting Championship. However, not much is known about the oldest brother, WC du Plessis.

Niel and Dricus du Plessis always had a sibling rivalry going on between them. The former is four years older than the UFC star and got into MMA after being inspired by ‘Stillknocks’. Furthermore, Neil du Plessis also maintains a career as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa. In his MMA career, Niel has a record of three wins and two losses and trains in his hometown of Pretoria.

Where is ‘Stillknocks’ from? His nationality and religion

Dricus du Plessis was born on the 14th of January, 1994. Throughout the years, there has been much debate about Dricus du Plessis’ nationality. Nevertheless, he is a South African by birth and his nationality remains as such. Additionally, his UFC biography has placed him residing in Welkom, South Africa. However, he was born in the Hatfield region of Pretoria in South Africa.

Recently, he mentioned how he was a real African fighter fighting in the UFC. It enraged fellow UFC stars Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman, who were both born in Nigeria but later migrated to different countries.

READ MORE: “I’m African but I Ain’ No Brother of Yours Son” – Raged Israel Adesanya Throws Slurs at Dricus Du Plessis as Dana White Makes On-the-Spot Title Fight for UFC 293

Furthermore, Dricus du Plessis is an ardent Christian and has kept to his beliefs since 2013 when he posted on Facebook about which religion he follows. He has maintained his faith in Christianity and is also a family-oriented individual.

Dricus du Plessis’ career: Where does he train?

At the age of 29, Dricus du Plessis is making a name for himself in the world of mixed martial arts. Representing Team CIT MMA, based out of South Africa, his journey to the top has been far from easy. He trains in his native country and is a 2nd-degree black belt in kickboxing. Du Plessis initially decided to pursue his passion by dropping out of the University of Pretoria, where he was studying agricultural economics.

He made his transition to MMA back in 2013 and hasn’t looked back since. Despite all the success he has achieved in the Octagon, there were doubts about his cardio capacity. However, it was soon revealed that a severe nose injury had left him unable to absorb more than 8% oxygen intake, thereby explaining his low cardio abilities. However, du Plessis has since undergone surgery on his nose, and it appears that his cardio is better than ever.

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