South Africa’s won Dricus ‘Stillknocks’ du Plessis will make his much-anticipated return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) octagon on 20 March 2021.
Du Plessis made the announcement on his social media to the delight of his fans and intrigue of MMA pundits.
Now you know
“Time has come to show the world once again what we already know,” Du Plessis posted.
He is set to face 28-year-old American Trevin Giles, who sports a similar overall MMA record to Du Plessis with 13 wins and two defeats in his professional fight career. In UFC, Giles is 4-2 havng won his last two fights after defeats to Zak Cummings and Gerald Meerschaert.
Du Plessis made a winning start to his UFC career with his first-round knockout of Brazilian Markus Perez in October last year.
It is unclear at this stage whether the UFC Fight Night event will be staged in the UAE, like Du Plessis’ debut or stateside.
Also on the card, Kevin Holland headlines for the first time as he takes on perennial middleweight contender Derek Brunson in the main event.
There is a further South African connection as the wife of South African MMA star JP Buys, Cheyanne takes on Kay Hansen in what will be her first UFC fight. Buys earned herself a place on the UFC roster a few weeks before her husband during season four of Dana White’s Contender Series.
Buys and Hansen are among the brightest prospects in the strawweight division, and their fight should be a great one.
A women’s bantamweight contest between Julia Avila and Julija Stoliarenko was added to the card last week.
Welterweights Max Griffin and Song Kenan have been preparing for 20 March since the beginning of December when they agreed to meet in the Octagon.
Du Plessis out to make it big in UFC
Du Plessis has made it clear that he is not content with simply making it to the biggest stage in MMA and another impressive display could pave the way for future title shots.
He won both the welterweight and middleweight titles during his time in the SA-based Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) and also won the KSW Welterweight belt.
UFC Fight Night on March 20 lineup so far
- Derek Brunson vs Kevin Holland
- Cheyanne Buys vs Kay Hansen
- Julia Avila vs Julija Stoliarenko
- Max Griffin vs Song Kenan
- Gustavo Lopez vs Adrian Yanez
- Dricus Du Plessis vs Trevin Giles
