Men's Lifestyle July 15, 2026 0 Comments

Dricus Du Plessis’ Relentless Comeback: The Untold Story Behind His Fight for Glory

Ever wonder what separates a champion from the rest of the pack? Turns out, it’s not just about being the best when you’re on top—it’s about what you do when you face the sting of defeat. Du Plessis, the trailblazing South African UFC champ, knows this all too well. He’s got the composure of a zen master, sure—but don’t mistake that calm for comfort. Losing? Yeah, he absolutely hates it. So instead of throwing in the towel or reinventing the wheel, he dives back into the grind, hunting down those tiny little cracks in his game that needed fixing. It’s a masterclass in precision, balance, and relentless hunger—because real warriors don’t shy away from the tough stuff; they lean in and grind harder. Ready to step inside his world? LEARN MORE

Du Plessis handled the aftermath with composure, but composure should not be mistaken for comfort. “I think that I’m a good sportsman, a very good sportsman,” he says. “But I am a terrible loser, because I do believe a good loser becomes a frequent one. And I just hate losing.”

So he went back to work. The loss did not make him want to become an entirely different fighter. It made him look more closely at what had to be tightened.

“It’s not about becoming a completely new fighter at all,” he says. “It’s just the little small cracks that there were, they’ve been fixed.”

“It’s just the little small cracks that there were, they’ve been fixed.”

That balance matters now, and Du Plessis is trying to be more precise than ever before. “The biggest thing is to go and fix what was broken and not try to fix something that is not broke,” he says.

When we spoke, Du Plessis had just finished what he calls the toughest session of camp — a punishing rotation where a fresh training partner comes in every minute, pushing him well beyond the fight distance before the taper begins. By then, the work was no longer about piling on more for the sake of it. It was about arriving with the right body, the right mind and the right kind of hunger.

“I’m as fit as I can be and as ready as I can be,” he says. “Now, it’s just maintaining and getting there.”

“I’m as fit as I can be and as ready as I can be.”

Recovery is also built into the routine: sauna and cold plunge every morning, compression boots, physio, food, supplements and stretching, which he admits is not exactly his favourite. “I’m not a big fan of stretching, but it is something that I have to do at least once or twice a week.”

Before he was a former champion trying to climb back to the belt, Du Plessis was the first South African to win a UFC championship. “Being able to carry my flag and be the best in the world, I mean, there is no prouder thing that a man can do, I believe.”

That pride still sits close to the surface. So does the competitiveness, which does not seem to switch off when he leaves the cage.

His relationship with sport also extends into Knox Hydrate, the hydration brand Du Plessis co-founded with Ethan Hughes. From the beginning, he says, sport had to be at the centre of it. “I thought if I’m going to do a business venture, I need to be able to give back to the sport that gave me everything,” he says.

Away from fighting, Du Plessis races rally, oval and endurance formats, and recently bought a Porsche that he insists is not for competition. “That’s my baby,” he says with a smile. “It’s not to race.”