Full name: Dricus du Plessis Nickname: Stillknocks Born: January 14, 1994, Welkom, Free State, South Africa Raised in: Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa Father: Japie du Plessis (retired) Mother: Gerda du Plessis (retired) Brothers: WC du Plessis (CEO, Orzella Investments) and Niel du Plessis (attorney and MMA fighter) Fiancée: Vasti Spiller (boxing coach, photographer, children’s book author) Religion: Christian Coach: Morne Visser, Team CIT, Pretoria Professional record: 22 wins, 3 losses (as of May 2026) Titles held: UFC Middleweight Champion (January 2024 to August 2025), EFC Welterweight Champion, EFC Middleweight Champion, KSW Welterweight Champion
He walked into a room full of cameras in January 2024, and the result came up split decision.
Some people in that room thought Sean Strickland had done enough. A lot of people watching from South Africa didn’t sleep. And when the announcement came, Dricus du Plessis, new UFC Middleweight Champion, the country that had never produced a UFC champion before had its first one.
He had been training in Pretoria while everyone else was training in Las Vegas. He had been fighting in African and Polish promotions while the American fighters were on the main UFC cards. He had dropped out of agricultural economics in his final year at university because he got a shot at a title and chose fighting over a degree.
He chose right.
This is the full story.
The Family From the Free State
Welkom sits in the middle of the Free State, one of South Africa’s nine provinces. It was built around gold mining. The land around it is flat and dry. It is not a place most international sports fans could locate on a map.
Dricus du Plessis was born there on January 14, 1994.
His family did not stay long. The du Plessis family eventually moved to Pretoria, the administrative capital, which is where Dricus grew up, attended school, and built his fighting career. But the Free State roots matter. The du Plessis family is Afrikaner, a South African ethnic group descended from Dutch, German, and French settlers, with a culture built around language, faith, and a fierce sense of identity. That identity is not incidental to who Dricus is. It runs through everything from his nickname to the fights he picks in press conferences.
Japie and Gerda du Plessis
Japie and Gerda du Plessis met at school. Both attended Theunissen Hoërskool in Theunissen, a small Free State town near Welkom. They built a life together, raised three sons, and are now retired in South Africa.
They are not public figures. Japie was described by those close to the family as actively encouraging his son’s training and competitions from an early age. Gerda provided the home environment in which three very different but very driven men grew up.
They are reportedly active on Facebook, sharing family updates and photos of their grandchildren. Dricus has posted warmly about his mother on Mother’s Day each year. The family is visibly close even if they stay out of the spotlight.
Two Brothers Who Both Stayed Close to the Sport
Dricus is the youngest of three brothers.
WC du Plessis is the eldest. He works as CEO of Orzella Investments, a company based in Johannesburg. He is the business mind of the family.
Niel du Plessis is the middle brother. His path is the most unusual one. He shares Dricus’s love of MMA and competes in the sport himself. He also works full-time as a director at Modiba du Plessis Attorneys, running both a law firm and a fighting career at the same time.
It says something about what Japie and Gerda put into their children. One is a CEO. One is a UFC champion. One fights and practices law simultaneously.
The brothers grew up rough-housing constantly. Dricus has described the physicality of the household without any particular nostalgia. It was just how they were. Three boys, a family that valued toughness, and a childhood where contact was normal.
Growing Up in South Africa: Rugby First, Everything Else Later
Rugby in South Africa is not a sport. It is closer to a religion.
Every boy in a South African school knows the Springboks. Knows the names of the great flankers and locks. Knows what Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld mean. Dricus was no different.
He played rugby throughout his school years. He was good enough to represent the Blue Bulls under-19 team, the Pretoria-based provincial side and one of the major rugby powers in South African domestic competition. He toured Argentina with the squad. He idolised Springbok flanker Schalk Burger.
He wanted, at one point, to play rugby seriously.
He was already doing martial arts at the same time. The two things coexisted for years until one started clearly winning.
Judo at Five, Wrestling at Twelve, Kickboxing at Fourteen
Dricus started judo at five years old. Not because his parents pushed him into it. Because he was drawn to contact sports from the beginning.
He trained judo seriously until around age ten. Then he took up wrestling at twelve, adding a grappling base that would eventually become one of the strongest parts of his MMA game. At fourteen, he started kickboxing.
He was not mediocre at any of these things. He was exceptional at all of them.
His amateur kickboxing record was 33 wins and 0 losses. Thirty of those thirty-three wins came by knockout. When people describe Dricus as a natural finisher, they are not just talking about his UFC record. They are talking about a fighter who had been putting opponents away since he was a teenager, across multiple disciplines, before he ever stepped inside an MMA cage.
The WAKO Gold Medal
In 2012, Dricus du Plessis was seventeen years old and competing at the WAKO Junior World Championships in K-1 style kickboxing.
He won gold.
Not just won. He became South Africa’s first ever medalist at the WAKO World Championships. No South African had ever stood on a world podium in that competition before him. He did it at seventeen, just three years after picking up the sport.
He holds a second-degree black belt in kickboxing. He was not someone who trained it as a supplementary skill. He was world-class at it as a teenager.
He made the jump to MMA in 2013. His own explanation was honest. He said there was not as much money in kickboxing. He had won everything available to win at the amateur level and he could see the ceiling. MMA represented a different kind of career.
That kind of clear thinking, choosing a path based on where it actually leads, has been a pattern in every major decision he has made since.
The University Decision That Changed Everything
Dricus enrolled at the University of Pretoria to study agricultural economics.
He studied. He trained. He competed on the regional MMA circuit. He managed both for several years.
Then he was offered a shot at the EFC Middleweight Championship.
He was in his final year of his degree. One year from finishing a qualification that would have given him a stable and respectable career. Most people in that position would think carefully before walking away.
He dropped out.
He put it plainly in his UFC bio: “I studied Agricultural Economics at the University of Pretoria but dropped out in my final year when I got my shot at my EFC title to give fighting my everything and be fully committed to become the greatest.”
The word “greatest” is not ego. It is the single-minded clarity of someone who knows what he wants and is not going to pretend otherwise to sound humble.
He chose fighting. He chose correctly.
The EFC Years: Building a Champion Nobody Outside Africa Was Watching
The Extreme Fighting Championship is the biggest MMA promotion in Africa. It is legitimate, competitive, and entirely invisible to most of the world’s MMA audience.
Dricus du Plessis became a two-division champion inside it.
He started his professional MMA career in 2013. His first fight was a first-round TKO. He went 4-0 before suffering his first professional loss, a guillotine choke submission to Garreth McLellan, who was then the EFC Middleweight Champion, at EFC Africa 33.
That loss mattered. It showed him exactly what he needed to fix in his ground game. He went back to the gym, addressed the holes, and came back.
He won the EFC Welterweight Championship. Then he won the EFC Middleweight Championship. Two titles in two different weight classes, on his home continent, in front of crowds who understood what they were watching.
The world outside Africa did not notice. That was fine. He was building something.
Poland, KSW and the Roberto Soldic Problem
In 2018, Dricus du Plessis signed with KSW, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a Polish MMA organisation and one of the most respected promotions in European MMA.
He won the KSW Welterweight Championship by beating Roberto Soldic in their first fight.
Then came the rematch.
Roberto Soldic is a Croatian knockout artist and one of the most dangerous welterweights in European MMA. In the rematch, Soldic stopped Dricus in the third round. It was Dricus’s last professional loss before joining the UFC.
He did not crumble. He won back-to-back fights after the Soldic defeat, got back to winning ways, and earned his way into the UFC’s attention. By the time he signed with the promotion in 2020, he had not lost since that night in Poland.
He would not lose again for another five years.
The UFC Era: Nine Fights, Nine Wins, One Belt
Dricus du Plessis made his UFC debut on October 11, 2020, at UFC Fight Night against Markus Perez. He knocked Perez out in the first round and earned Performance of the Night.
He was 26 years old, based in Pretoria, and largely unknown outside African and European MMA circles. He had a style that confused people. Aggressive, unorthodox, willing to take a shot to land his own, with a submission game underneath the striking that opponents did not see coming until it was too late.
He went to work.
The Darren Till fight. In September 2022, Dricus fought Darren Till at UFC 282. Till was a former welterweight title challenger with a huge fanbase. Dricus stopped him in the third round. Performance of the Night went to him again. It was the fight that made the wider UFC audience start paying attention.
Robert Whittaker. In July 2023, he beat Robert Whittaker by unanimous decision. Whittaker had been UFC Middleweight Champion. He had beaten Yoel Romero twice. He was a former world champion at the peak of his powers. Dricus beat him cleanly on the scorecards. After that win there was no reasonable argument left against giving him a title shot.
UFC 297: The night South Africa got its first champion. On January 20, 2024, Dricus du Plessis fought Sean Strickland for the UFC Middleweight Championship in Toronto. Strickland had upset Israel Adesanya to win the belt. The fight went five hard rounds. The split decision went to Dricus. South Africa had its first UFC champion.
He said afterwards that he had trained for the fight in Pretoria. He had not relocated to a famous American gym. He had worked with Morne Visser and Team CIT, in his country, and brought the belt home. That mattered to him and to millions of South Africans watching at whatever hour the broadcast reached their time zone.
Submitting Adesanya. The first title defence was against Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth in August 2024. Adesanya is a two-time UFC Middleweight Champion and one of the best strikers the division has ever seen. The fight came loaded with personal heat from their press conference confrontations over the “real African” debate. Dricus submitted him in the fourth round with a rear naked choke. It was not supposed to go that way on paper. It happened anyway. The manner of the finish said something about the completeness of his game that earlier wins had only hinted at.
Strickland rematch. In February 2025, Dricus fought Strickland for the third time at UFC 312 in Sydney, winning again by decision. His second successful title defence. He had now beaten Strickland twice and submitted Adesanya. He was undefeated in the UFC. Nine fights, nine wins. The belt was his.
The Real African Controversy With Israel Adesanya
This is the debate that split the MMA world.
In the buildup to UFC 305, Dricus du Plessis called himself the “real African” fighter. His argument was straightforward. He was born in South Africa. He grew up in South Africa. He trained in South Africa. He won the belt fighting from South Africa.
Israel Adesanya, born in Nigeria and raised in New Zealand, took sharp exception to this. The press conference between them became genuinely heated. Adesanya argued that an Afrikaner calling himself the “real African” was historically tone-deaf at best. Dricus argued that the word African describes where you are from, and he is from Africa.
The debate touched on centuries of South African history, the legacy of apartheid, and what African identity means when it is claimed by someone of European descent.
Dricus never backed down. He said: “Stating facts. Where do I reside? What’s my postal code? Where do I train? Where do I live? Where was I born? In South Africa. Still there. Still training. And I won this belt from South Africa.”
The argument is not easily resolved. South African history is not simple. What is clear is that Dricus’s pride in his country is genuine and goes well beyond a press conference soundbite. He trains at home when other champions fly to American camps. He fights under the South African flag when he could easily have based himself elsewhere.
Whether you agree with the framing or not, the commitment behind it is not in question.
UFC 319: Khamzat Chimaev and the Night the Belt Left
On August 16, 2025, Dricus du Plessis walked into United Center in Chicago to defend his belt against Khamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev took him down within the first ten seconds.
Across five rounds, the Chechen fighter landed a UFC-record 529 strikes. He took Dricus down in the opening minute of every single round. He was completely in control from the first exchange. In round three alone, he landed 156 strikes, more than three times what Dricus managed across the entire fight.
Dricus survived all five rounds. He did not quit. He hunted for a choke late in round five and nearly found it. But the decision was unanimous and it was not close.
He was gracious afterwards. He said: “The man has incredible control on top. It wasn’t a matter of strength, it wasn’t physical, it was almost like he knew what your next move was. I could almost taste that victory with the choke in round 5, but he beat me fair and square. He was the better man tonight. I’ll be coming to get my belt back, but for now, it’s his.”
Chimaev, after the fight, said of Dricus: “This guy has real heart, a real lion, a real African lion.”
Coming from the man who had just dismantled him, that meant something.
A week later, Dricus posted on Instagram: “AND SINCERELY thank you to all those who enjoyed to see me fall, because I will return the favour, like I always have.”
He bounced back from the Soldic loss. He has bounced back from everything.
Vasti Spiller: The Fiancée Who Has Been There for All of It
For most of his UFC career, Dricus du Plessis said nothing publicly about his personal life.
Then he turned up in a UFC Embedded episode before UFC 297 with a woman named Vasti Spiller.
Vasti is from Muldersdrift in Gauteng. She was born on August 21, 1998. She is a licensed boxing coach at CIT Boxing Studio, the same gym where Dricus trains. She is also a photographer running her own business called Baruch Photography, a children’s book author, and a brand ambassador. She briefly entered Miss South Africa 2022. She describes herself as “a storyteller who loves Jesus.”
They started dating in 2023. She was at ringside at UFC 305 in Perth when he submitted Adesanya. She was there for the Strickland rematch. She has followed him around the world through every title fight and title defence.
On January 14, 2025, Dricus’s 31st birthday, he dropped to one knee at his birthday party in Pretoria.
She said yes.
She shared the video on Instagram with the caption “no longer two, but one,” referencing Mark 10:8 from the Bible. In a separate post she wrote: “God knows when. God knows how. God loves you in every season. God is the reason I fell in love with a man that makes me want to live and not regret anything. Life is not always easy, but for moments like these, well every second is worth it. I can’t wait to marry you.”
They are not yet married as of May 2026. A wedding date has not been publicly announced.
Faith, Identity and What Stillknocks Actually Means
Dricus du Plessis is a Christian. He publicly declared his faith in 2013 and has spoken openly about it throughout his career. His fiancée shares the same faith deeply. It is genuinely part of who both of them are.
His Afrikaner identity is inseparable from how he carries himself in the sport. He is proud of being South African. He is proud of being Afrikaner. He does not offer apologies for either and has said consistently that he fights for every South African, not just people who look like him.
The nickname Stillknocks came from his EFC days and stuck because it is accurate. He still knocks people out. He still finishes fights. Through every level of the sport, from amateur kickboxing to UFC gold, the ability to end a fight has been the one constant.
The Nose Surgery Nobody Knew About for Years
In April 2023, Dricus underwent surgery to correct a significant nasal obstruction.
The procedure had been recommended years earlier but was repeatedly delayed because of his UFC schedule. The issue had been affecting his oxygen intake, meaning he had been competing at the highest level in the world with a breathing impairment limiting his conditioning the whole time.
The surgery was successful. He returned to training and won the UFC title eight months later.
The detail matters because it reframes his earlier UFC performances. He was limiting opponents while not operating at his own physiological ceiling. After the procedure, he was at full capacity for the first time in years.
Dricus du Plessis Net Worth
Dricus du Plessis’s net worth is estimated at approximately 2 to 3 million dollars as of 2025.
His income comes from UFC fight purses, title fight appearance fees, pay-per-view revenue shares, sponsorships, commercial partnerships, and performance bonuses accumulated throughout his career. He earned Performance of the Night bonuses at multiple UFC events.
He is not among the very highest earners in the sport, but his earning trajectory accelerated sharply after winning the title in 2024. His three title fight appearances between January 2024 and August 2025 were the highest-value pay periods of his career.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Dricus du Plessis |
| Born | January 14, 1994, Welkom, Free State, South Africa |
| Raised in | Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Nickname | Stillknocks |
| Father | Japie du Plessis (retired) |
| Mother | Gerda du Plessis (retired) |
| Brothers | WC du Plessis (CEO, Orzella Investments); Niel du Plessis (attorney and MMA fighter) |
| Fiancée | Vasti Spiller, engaged January 2025 |
| Religion | Christian |
| Ethnicity | Afrikaner |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Reach | 76 inches |
| Weight class | Middleweight (185 lbs) |
| Coach | Morne Visser, Team CIT, Pretoria |
| Professional record | 22 wins, 3 losses (as of May 2026) |
| UFC record | 9 wins, 1 loss |
| Titles held | UFC Middleweight (2024 to 2025), EFC Welterweight, EFC Middleweight, KSW Welterweight |
| Education | University of Pretoria, agricultural economics, dropped out in final year |
| Amateur kickboxing | 33 wins, 0 losses, 30 KOs; WAKO Junior World Champion 2012 |
| Net worth | Approx. 2 to 3 million dollars (2025 estimate) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Dricus du Plessis’s parents? His father is Japie du Plessis and his mother is Gerda du Plessis. Both are retired and live in South Africa. They met as students at Theunissen Hoërskool in the Free State. They are active on social media and described as strongly supportive of their sons throughout their careers. Dricus posts warmly about his mother every Mother’s Day.
Does Dricus du Plessis have siblings? Yes. He is the youngest of three brothers. His eldest brother WC du Plessis is the CEO of Orzella Investments in Johannesburg. His middle brother Niel du Plessis is both a practising attorney at Modiba du Plessis Attorneys and an active MMA competitor. All three grew up being physical with each other, something Dricus has cited as part of his early combat sports formation.
Is Dricus du Plessis married? Not yet. He is engaged to Vasti Spiller, a boxing coach, photographer, and children’s book author from Muldersdrift, Gauteng. He proposed at his 31st birthday party in Pretoria on January 14, 2025. Vasti shared the proposal video on Instagram with the caption “no longer two, but one,” referencing Mark 10:8. A wedding date has not been publicly announced as of May 2026.
Who is Vasti Spiller? Vasti Spiller was born on August 21, 1998, in Muldersdrift, Gauteng. She is a licensed boxing coach at CIT Boxing Studio, a photographer with her own business Baruch Photography, a children’s book author, and a brand ambassador. She briefly competed in Miss South Africa 2022. She and Dricus started dating in 2023 and got engaged in January 2025. She is a devout Christian who is open about her faith on social media.
What was the real African controversy? In the buildup to his UFC 305 fight against Israel Adesanya, Dricus described himself as the “real African” fighter, pointing to the fact that he was born, raised, and still trains in South Africa. Adesanya, born in Nigeria and raised in New Zealand, took strong issue with the claim, arguing that an Afrikaner making it was historically insensitive. The debate divided the MMA community. Dricus did not back down and went on to submit Adesanya in the fourth round.
How did Dricus du Plessis lose the UFC belt? He lost the UFC Middleweight Championship to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in Chicago on August 16, 2025. Chimaev took him down within ten seconds of round one and dominated all five rounds on the ground, landing a UFC-record 529 strikes. The decision was unanimous. It was Dricus’s first and only UFC loss.
What degree did Dricus du Plessis study? He studied agricultural economics at the University of Pretoria. He dropped out in his final year after being offered a shot at the EFC Middleweight Championship. He chose fighting over the degree, won the EFC belt, and eventually won the UFC belt.
When did Dricus du Plessis start martial arts? He started judo at age five. He took up wrestling at twelve and kickboxing at fourteen. At seventeen he won gold at the WAKO Junior World Championships in K-1 kickboxing, becoming South Africa’s first ever medalist at the event. His amateur kickboxing record was 33 wins and 0 losses with 30 knockouts before he transitioned to MMA in 2013.
Did Dricus du Plessis play rugby? Yes. He played throughout his school years and represented the Blue Bulls under-19 team, including a tour to Argentina. He idolised Springbok flanker Schalk Burger and wanted to play professional rugby at one point. He remains a passionate Springboks supporter.
What does Stillknocks mean? The nickname came from his time competing in the EFC and stuck because it describes exactly what he does. Across every discipline and every level of the sport, kickboxing, African MMA, European MMA, and the UFC, Dricus du Plessis still finishes fights. He still knocks people out. The name has never needed updating.
Did Dricus du Plessis have surgery? Yes. In April 2023, he had surgery to correct a significant nasal obstruction that had been affecting his oxygen intake for years. The procedure had been recommended much earlier but was delayed due to his UFC schedule. He returned to training after the surgery and won the UFC Middleweight Championship eight months later.
Last updated: May 2026. Sources include Wikipedia, UFC.com, ESPN, CNN, Sky Sports, EssentiallySports, Briefly.co.za, The South African, Sports Illustrated, The Sportster, Woman and Home Magazine, Rekord/The Citizen, and Bsgistnews.
You may also enjoy reading about these sports families and athletes:
