Dricus du Plessis
South African mixed martial artist
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| February 2025 | Publicly expressed political support for Donald Trump at a press conference, calling his re-election 'absolutely incredible' and praising him as an 'amazing president'. |
| February 9 2025 | Scheduled to defend UFC Middleweight Championship in a rematch against Sean Strickland at UFC 312. |
| January 14 2025 | Proposed to his fiancée Vasti Spiller on his 31st birthday. |
| 2024 | Ranked #10 for Fight of the Year by UFC.com for his fight against Israel Adesanya. |
| 2024 | Ranked #5 in UFC.com's Fighter of the Year. |
| 2024 | His coach Morne Visser revealed an unconventional training method of using a taser on du Plessis' feet during training sessions. |
| 2024 | Won the World MMA Awards International Fighter of the Year. |
| August 18 2024 | Successfully defended UFC Middleweight Championship by defeating Israel Adesanya via face crank submission in the fourth round at UFC 305, causing Adesanya's first career submission loss. |
| August 18 2024 | Dricus du Plessis is scheduled to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia |
| January 20 2024 | Dricus du Plessis competes against Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| January 20 2024 | Defeated Sean Strickland by split decision to win the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 297, becoming the first UFC champion from South Africa. Earned the Fight of the Night bonus. |
| December 16 2023 | Involved in a brawl with Sean Strickland at UFC 296, which was quickly broken up by event staff. |
| October 21 2023 | Became the first South African UFC champion by winning the UFC Middleweight Championship. |
| July 8 2023 | Defeated Robert Whittaker via technical knockout in the second round at UFC 290, earning the Performance of the Night award and securing the number one contender spot in the middleweight division. |
| April 2023 | Underwent surgery to fix a breathing impairment in his nose, addressing a long-standing issue that had limited his oxygen intake to only 8% during previous UFC competitions. |
| April 2023 | Underwent surgery to correct a breathing impairment in his nose, addressing a long-standing issue where he was competing with only 8% oxygen intake through his nostrils. |
| March 4 2023 | Defeated Derek Brunson via technical knockout (corner stoppage) in the second round at UFC 285. |
| 2022 | Du Plessis becomes the first South African to win a UFC championship by winning the UFC Middleweight Championship. |
| December 10 2022 | Defeated Darren Till via submission in the third round at UFC 282, earning his first Fight of the Night award. |
| July 2 2022 | Won against Brad Tavares via unanimous decision at UFC 276. |
| 2021 | Du Plessis becomes the Welterweight Champion in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). |
| 2021 | Joined the UFC Middleweight division, beginning his prominent UFC career. |
| July 10 2021 | Defeated Trevin Giles via knockout in the second round at UFC 264, earning the Performance of the Night award. |
| 2020 | Du Plessis wins the Middleweight Championship in the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC). |
| 2020 | Du Plessis postponed a planned nose surgery after signing with the UFC, choosing to continue competing with restricted breathing. |
| 2020 | Won the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) Welterweight Championship, expanding his international fighting credentials. |
| October 11 2020 | Made his UFC promotional debut, defeating Markus Perez via knockout in the first round at UFC Fight Night 179. |
| 2019 | Won the Middleweight Championship in Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC). |
| 2019 | Won the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) Welterweight Championship, establishing himself as a prominent mixed martial artist in South Africa. |
| 2018 | Fought and won against Joilton Santos via TKO at KSW 50. |
| October 2018 | Lost to Roberto Soldić via third-round knockout in a rematch at KSW 45: De Fries vs. Bedorf. |
| April 14 2018 | Defeated Roberto Soldić via TKO to win the KSW Welterweight Championship at KSW 43, dethroning the champion with a left hook. |
| 2017 | Du Plessis returned to EFC, defeating Brazilian Mauricio Da Rocha Jr. in a welterweight contest. |
| 2017 | Du Plessis won the EFC Middleweight Championship by defeating Yannick Bahati via guillotine choke at 1:30 of the first round at EFC Africa 62, becoming a two-division champion within the promotion. |
| 2015 | Du Plessis went 3-0 in his fights this year. |
| 2015 | Du Plessis won the vacant EFC Welterweight Championship by defeating Martin van Staden via guillotine choke submission in the third round at EFC 50. |
| June 2015 | Du Plessis made his welterweight debut at EFC Africa 40, defeating Dino Bagattin via second-round rear-naked choke submission. |
| 2013 | Du Plessis made his professional MMA debut, initially compiling a 4-0 record before facing Garreth McLellan at EFC Africa 33, where he lost via guillotine choke submission in the third round. |
| 2012 | Won the Junior World Championships in the -86 kg weight class (K-1 rules) with the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations. |
| 2012 | Migrated from kickboxing to mixed martial arts after realizing there was limited financial opportunity in kickboxing. |
| 2012 | Won gold in K-1 style kickboxing at the WAKO World Championships, becoming South Africa's first medalist in the competition. |
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