Dricus du Plessis (23-3, 20) was born in Welkom, Free State, South Africa on January 14, 1994. At the age of 19 years on July 25, 2013, he made his professional MMA debut against Tshikangu Makuebo, winning the fight via 1st-round TKO.
On October 11, 2020, 26-year old Dricus du Plessis made his UFC debut on his 17th professional MMA fight at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen against a 30-year old Markus Perez, winning the fight in the 1st round via KO.
He became the UFC middleweight champion on January 20, 2024 at age 30 on his 23rd professional MMA fight at UFC 297 after defeating a 32-year old Sean Strickland via 5-round split decision.
Plessis' last fight was a middleweight (UFC Championship) title defense against Khamzat Chimaev on August 16, 2025. He lost the fight via 5th-round unanimous decision. He is on a 1-fight losing streak.
He has fought ten times in the UFC, and has a record of 9 wins and 1 loss in the promotion.
Some of Dricus du Plessis' best fights have been against Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland, Markus Perez, Trevin Giles, Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson and Roberto Soldić.
Plessis has 3 losses on his MMA record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Promotion | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26  | Aug 16, 2025 31 years, 7 months 23-3 (20) | 31 years, 3 months 14-0 (10) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | LOSS Lost UFC middleweight title |
25  | Feb 9, 2025 31 years 23-2 (20) | 33 years, 11 months 29-6 (15) | UFC | MD | 5 | UD | WIN Defended UFC middleweight title |
24  | Aug 18, 2024 30 years, 7 months 22-2 (20) | 35 years 24-3 (16) | UFC | MD | 4 | SUB | WIN Face crank Defended UFC middleweight title |
23 | Jan 20, 2024 30 years 21-2 (19) | 32 years, 10 months 28-5 (15) | UFC | MD | 5 | SD | WIN Won UFC middleweight title |
22  | Jul 8, 2023 29 years, 5 months 20-2 (19) | 32 years, 6 months 24-6 (14) | UFC | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Punches |
21  | Mar 4, 2023 29 years, 1 months 19-2 (18) | 39 years, 2 months 23-8 (16) | UFC | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Corner stoppage |
20  | Dec 10, 2022 28 years, 10 months 18-2 (17) | 29 years, 11 months 18-4-1 (12) | UFC | MD | 3 | SUB | WIN Face crank |
19  | Jul 2, 2022 28 years, 5 months 17-2 (16) | 34 years, 6 months 19-6 (7) | UFC | MD | 3 | UD | WIN |
18  | Jul 10, 2021 27 years, 5 months 16-2 (16) | 28 years, 11 months 14-2 (11) | UFC | MD | 2 | KO | WIN Punches |
17  | Oct 11, 2020 26 years, 8 months 15-2 (15) | 30 years, 3 months 12-3 (8) | UFC | MD | 1 | KO | WIN Punches |
16 | Dec 14, 2019 25 years, 11 months 14-2 (14) | Brendan Lesar | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke Defended EFC middleweight title | |
15 | Sep 14, 2019 25 years, 8 months 13-2 (13) | Joilton Santos | KSW | MD | 2 | TKO | WIN Punches |
14  | Oct 6, 2018 24 years, 8 months 12-2 (12) | 23 years, 8 months 13-3 (12) | KSW | WL | 3 | KO | LOSS Punches Lost KSW welterweight title |
13 | Apr 14, 2018 24 years, 3 months 12-1 (12) | 23 years, 2 months 13-2 (12) | KSW | WL | 2 | TKO | WIN Punches Won KSW welterweight title |
12 | Aug 19, 2017 23 years, 7 months 11-1 (11) | Yannick Bahati | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke Won EFC middleweight title | |
11 | May 13, 2017 23 years, 3 months 10-1 (10) | Maurício da Rocha Jr. | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
10 | Dec 9, 2016 22 years, 10 months 9-1 (9) | Rafał Haratyk | MD | 2 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke | |
9 | Jun 17, 2016 22 years, 5 months 8-1 (8) | Martin van Staden | WL | 3 | SUB | WIN Guillotine choke Won EFC welterweight title | |
8 | Dec 12, 2015 21 years, 10 months 7-1 (7) | Bruno Mukulu | WL | 2 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
7 | Jun 6, 2015 21 years, 4 months 6-1 (6) | Dino Bagattin | WL | 2 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
6 | Feb 21, 2015 21 years, 1 months 5-1 (5) | Darren Daniel | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
5 | Aug 30, 2014 20 years, 7 months 4-1 (4) | Garreth McLellan | MD | 3 | SUB | LOSS Guillotine choke For EFC middleweight title | |
4 | Feb 27, 2014 20 years, 1 months 4-0 (4) | Donavin Hawkey | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Punches | |
3 | Oct 10, 2013 19 years, 8 months 3-0 (3) | JC Lamprecht | MD | 3 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
2 | Sep 12, 2013 19 years, 7 months 2-0 (2) | Bruno Mukulu | MD | 1 | SUB | WIN Rear-naked choke | |
1 | Jul 25, 2013 19 years, 6 months 1-0 (1) | Tshikangu Makuebo | MD | 1 | TKO | WIN Knee injury |
