Dricus du Plessis became South Africa’s first UFC champion when he beat Sean Strickland in January for the middleweight belt, which he defended against Israel Adesanya. There are likely more South African fighters who will follow him to glory in years to come.
Evidence from Dricus du Plessis’ CIT Performance Institute, a gym which he co-owns with Claudia and JT Botha, suggests that there are more future champions from South Africa.
CIT is a relatively small gym although ESPN reported that it has plans to expand across South Africa in future – but it has already produced du Plessis and another supremely talented fighter with the potential to become a champion, Cameron Saaiman.
Is Cameron Saaiman next up?
When Saaiman earned his UFC contract in 2022, at the age of 21, he became the youngest active male fighter in the entire organisation. Raul Rosas Jr. subsequently took that honour from him, but Saaiman continued his rise up the bantamweight ranks with wins in his first three UFC fights.
Although he lost narrowly to Christian Rodriguez in his fourth and was then knocked out by Payton Talbott in his fifth, he still has time on his side at 23 years old and can bounce back. Even his mentor, du Plessis, lost two fights on his rise up the MMA ranks – to Garreth McLellan and Roberto Soldić.
Furthermore, Saaiman is not the only talented fighter training at CIT. Others who might be in the UFC in the near future include Nkazimulo Zulu and Mark Hulme.
South Africa has had Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters before du Plessis, including McLellan, Don Madge and Dalcha Lungiambula, who was Congolese but fought out of Cape Town.
The Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) has produced several top-quality fighters, including du Plessis himself, with South Africa’s MMA culture gradually establishing itself since its formation in 2009.
Potential Impact of UFC Africa
The country is now ready to take on the world and show its mettle. As CIT expands its operations, other competitors will likely soon emerge.
Dana White has pledged to take the UFC to South Africa and this is likely to generate even more interest in MMA.
Du Plessis spoke to ESPN after becoming champion of how long it took for him to hit the UFC’s radar, saying: He said: “There was never a moment I thought it wouldn’t be possible [to become a UFC champion]. [But] there were times that I doubted; there were times that I was four years or five years in — I had three different world titles outside of the UFC [in] two weight divisions. I was just winning and I just wasn’t seen by the UFC.
“I thought, ‘How is this possible? I’ve done everything in the criteria — all finishes. Having 13 fights with 12 performance bonuses and a fight of the night, submission of the night, knockout of the night, performance of the night and I’m not getting the call?’
“It was demotivating in the sense that it only played with my mind, but I never stopped believing I’d be the world champion. Not once.”
After he paved the way, it is likely going to be a smoother road to the top for South Africa’s next UFC greats.
