Dricus Du Plessis would be open to headline UFC 300 if the circumstances were correct, according to manager Danny Rube.
Rube, appearing on the January 25 episode of Anik & Florian, stressed that Du Plessis values his wellbeing above showmanship:
"I think there's a huge incentive for him to be healthy and make a play to try and headline [UFC] 300," Rube explained. "He wants to do it we've had the talks, he wants to do it it's just about making sure he's healthy.
"I think the belt and retaining his championship is more important than fighting on UFC 300."
This would be the case with "Stillknocks", who infamously lost his first opportunity at a middleweight title shot when he prioritized recovering from a foot injury sustained before fighting Robert Whittaker.
"I mean, I couldn't walk," Du Plessis told Submission Radio on November 29, 2023. "I could not walk on my foot. If you go to the UFC PI staff. .... that is the only thing I worked on the whole time I was at the PI, was my foot. Every single day I was at the physio and at the PT working on this foot."
Du Plessis would pull out of a planned bout with then-champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, but it paid dividends in the long run. Sean Strickland would usurp the middleweight throne and Du Plessis would find himself taking the title at UFC 297.
As for a potential opponent for Du Plessis at UFC 300, a few names come to mind. The most obvious choice is Adesanya, with whom Du Plessis has a heated rivalry The only caveat is whether Adesanya deserves a third title shot; "The Last Stylebender" owned and lost the middleweight title twice since late 2022.
As Du Plessis prioritizes defending his title, he could fight and not risk it at all by challenging for Alex Pereira's light heavyweight strap. The South African registered his interest in "Poatan" at the UFC 297 pre-fight presser.
Another 'double-champ' matchup to be considered is Leon Edwards, who believes a middleweight title fight is "100%" feasible, stating "Any of them two [Strickland & Du Plessis] would be great to fight." A fight against "Rocky", however, wouldn't be prudent for a proper middleweight defense for Du Plessis.
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