Dricus du Plessis has made a career of proving the doubters wrong.

The South African is set to defend his middleweight crown in Perth, Australia on August 18 and UFC 304 against the two-time former champion Israel Adesanya; a bout in which the champion enters as a slight underdog.

The thing is, Du Plessis, a perfect 7-0 in the UFC and 21-2 overall, has found himself in this position before against the likes of Sean Strickland (where he won his world title) and Robert Whittaker (where he established himself as the division’s top contender).

In just over two weeks’ time, Du Plessis will seek to upset the oddsmakers once more when he steps in the cage with Adesanya in what will be the culmination of a long-standing rivalry between the two fighters.

You can check out Du Plessis’ win over Whittaker from last July here.