SUMMARY
- Dricus du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland to win the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 297.
- In his first interview as champion inside the Octagon, du Plessis said something in his native Afrikaans language.
Dricus du Plessis defeated Sean Strickland at UFC 297 to win the UFC Middleweight title. Du Plessis became the first-ever South African UFC champion. ‘Stillknocks’, born in Pretoria, is well connected with his South African roots. He has a saying in his native language that has even been adopted by the South African rugby team.
Du Plessis began his UFC career in 2020 and went 6-0 before he received his shot at the title. He took on Strickland at UFC 297 in Canada, which was Strickland’s first title defense. The South African won the bout via split decision and gave an elated interview inside the Octagon.
Daniel Cormier took du Plessis’s post-fight Octagon interview. Before beginning the interview, du Plessis asked for his national flag and shouted his favorite Afrikaans phrase, “Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie.” A South African fan also had the same quote written on their poster in the crowd. Let’s find out what it means.
Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie: What does the phrase said by Dricus du Plessis mean?
The first instance of du Plessis saying this phrase is not known but he claimed that it came out of his heart. The patriotic man believes people do not know what South Africa is capable of. Therefore, the quote, ‘Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie’ means ‘They don’t know what we know’.
The quote reached further into the hearts of South African people when the rugby team adopted it. Fondly known as Springboks, the South African rugby team adopted the phrase ‘hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie’ during the 2023 Rugby World Cup. It helped them successfully defend their world championship.
Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie 🇿🇦🥊 🏆#UFC pic.twitter.com/u5aXa8DVqB
— Retshegofaditswe Nche (@oxnche) January 21, 2024
In an interview with News24, du Plessis said, “They don’t know what we as a country have been through and how proud we are to be here, no matter the adversity we face. We will never give up the fight, we will never stay down. And that’s what they don’t know…
“I said it and it blew up and now the Springboks are saying it. It just came out of my heart because ‘hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie’. We’re always the underdogs. We are always expected to fail, especially in my career and in the Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC],” he added.
Du Plessis has reached the pinnacle of his UFC career with the middleweight title around his waist. However, he did not forget his rallying call as he stated ‘hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie’ loud and proud in his first interview as champion.