Former UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis has expressed an interest in a third fight with Roberto Soldic following the Croatian’s successful debut in the UFC earlier this month.
The two fighters previously met twice under the KSW banner in 2018, with each recording a stoppage victory. Du Plessis defeated Soldic by second-round TKO to claim the promotion’s welterweight title in April of that year, before Soldic reclaimed the belt with a third-round knockout in their rematch six months later.
Speaking in an interview with Fight Forecast, as noted by Sherdog, du Plessis welcomed Soldic’s arrival in the UFC and suggested that a third meeting could take place if the Croatian establishes himself in the promotion.
“Soldic, for a long time, has been in many people’s minds the best fighter outside of the UFC,” said du Plessis. “Yeah, he’s at welterweight. It’s 1-1. Being the best outside of the UFC is not being the best in the UFC. We have seen that many times. It’s on a different level.”
“You know, a super fight [could happen] down the line. If he gets a couple of wins and says, ‘Okay, let’s do a middleweight fight.’ I think that would be amazing. I think that fight would be awesome,” he added.
Soldic made his UFC debut at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City on October 3, earning a unanimous decision victory over Kalinn Williams in a welterweight contest. The Croatian previously competed in ONE Championship before signing with the UFC earlier this year.
Du Plessis has competed exclusively at middleweight since joining the UFC, meaning Soldic would need to move up to 185 pounds for a potential third encounter. No discussions regarding a trilogy bout have been confirmed, with du Plessis indicating that Soldic would first need to establish himself with further victories inside the Octagon.
