UFC champ du Plessis to walk out with Springboks greats before title fight

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis has confirmed “a done deal” plan to walk out with Springboks Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi before his title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth on Sunday.

Like many South Africans, du Plessis reportedly grew up dreaming of one day pulling on the iconic green jersey of the Springboks in the Test rugby arena. While du Plessis’s sporting career has gone in another direction, the 30-year-old remains passionate about rugby.

When fights fans from around the world stop to watch one of the most highly-anticipated middleweight bouts in recent UFC history, du Plessis will walk towards the octagon at Perth’s RAC Arena in a moment that will echo throughout South African sporting history.

The champion fighter from Pretoria will wear custom South Africa shorts for this blockbuster against Nigerian-New Zealand fighter Adesanya, and he’ll also be joined by two of the greatest Springboks to have pulled on the jersey in the Test arena.

Two-time Rugby World Cup winners Eben Etzebeth and captain Siya Kolisi are set to join du Plessis on the walk out to the octagon. If you’re a fight fan, you'll understand just how big of a moment this will be for everyone involved – including fans back in South Africa.

“We are trying to get Eben (Etzebeth) and Siya (Kolisi) to walk out with me and it looks like it’s a done deal,” du Plessis told KFM Mornings.

“They won’t be sitting in my corner but will walk out with me to the octagon which is pretty special.”

Du Plessis will likely fight Adesanya around midway (local time) on Sunday. That title bout follows the Springboks’ second Rugby Championship clash against the Wallabies in as many weeks, with that match scheduled for Saturday evening at Optus Stadium.

The Springboks are riding a wave of confidence going into a fight of their own. They dominated the Wallabies last weekend in Brisbane as they snapped their long-lasting Suncorp Stadium hoodoo with a masterful 33-7 win.

Coach Rassie Erasmus has made 10 changes to the starting side, which has led some media outlets to label this new-look XV as a ‘B team.’ Elrigh Louw basically laughed that off in an interview with RugbyPass this week as the players themselves focused on the job at hand.

“Because Perth is so far ahead, I’m fighting on Sunday and the Springboks are playing on Saturday. All of them are going to be at the fight, and it’s going to be awesome,” du Plessis explained.

“The Boks are playing, they are the pride of South Africa, and then I’m fighting, all on the same weekend – talk about stars aligning.”

Du Plessis is looking to defend his UFC middleweight belt for the first time after beating American Sean Strickland by split decision at UFC 297 in Canada earlier this year. The South African was strategic and effective during the fight and was rewarded by the judges.

But with that comes pressure. The Springboks know a thing or two about defending world titles after taking out the Rugby World Cup crown in 2019 and then again in 2023. Du Plessis will have the whole world watching but the Boks will be supporting their countryman the whole way.

“It gets me excited knowing that the whole world is watching. More people to see what we’re all about, that’s not pressure that’s excitement.

“The bigger the moment, the bigger Dricus shows up on the night. I can’t wait. This fight is by far the biggest of my career. This is my World Cup, my last one was in January in Canada and now I’m defending it.

“Once I put that South African flag around my shoulders, there is nothing in the world that can stop me. He can knock me down, but he won’t knock me out and he won’t keep me down.”