Dricus Du Plessis is ready for the next chapter of his career, and it involves winning UFC belts in two different weight classes.

Du Plessis won the middleweight belt off Sean Strickland back in January 2024 and defended it twice before dropping it to Khamzat Chimaev in a one-sided grappling contest. We’re just over a year removed from that bad loss, and “Stillknocks” has bounced back with a solid win over Kamaru Usman.

In a new interview with Sias du Plessis (no relation), Dricus discussed getting back on the winning path.

“I think especially after a loss like that, you work so hard to rectify the mistakes that you made,” he said. “And to go back out and go prove that the things you worked on did work, the hard work you put in paid off. It’s incredible. Like I always say, you’re only as good as your last fight, and to be a loser is not in my cards. I don’t like that.”

Du Plessis has big ambitions as he works to get himself back into the No. 1 contender spot at 185 pounds.

“Getting my belt back,” he stated. “I mean, that’s for me. That’s the biggest thing. I wanna get my belt back, and eventually go up to 205 and go test myself there. And I’m certain that I’ll be a champion. I’m big enough for that division, and I’m certain I can be champion in that division as well.”

Du Plessis has always been a big middleweight, and moving up to light heavyweight would take some pressure off his pre-fight cut.

“In pounds, it’s 45 pounds that I’m cutting,” he revealed. “Even more sometimes from where I walk around outside of a camp to fight. It’s ridiculous. It’s crazy. But my team is great. We’ve done this for many years. We we got it down to a science.

“I’m not gonna sit here and say, ‘No, It’s good for you.’ It isn’t. But, I mean, getting punched in the head is also not good for you. So, I made my choices, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Du Plessis says he had some small injuries from the Kamaru Usman fight in July but is ready to go now. He’s definitely at least one solid win away from being back in the top contender’s circle, which isn’t the worst situation given the logjam at the top of 185. As for who, specifically, Dricus wants to fight?

“I want to fight the best possible guy because I want to prove that I am the greatest fighter ever,” Du Plessis declared. “And to do that, you can’t just beat a couple of champions. You need to own your route to that title. Take the tough fights that nobody wants, and I’ve been willing to do that.”