Betway partners with South Africa's first UFC champ Dricus du Plessis

Imago Dricus du Plessis (left) has partnered with Betway

Global bookmaker Betway have announced their partnership with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis.

Du Plessis is currently undefeated in the world’s biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation, the UFC. He is on a 10-win streak and holds a professional record of 22-2-0. The middleweight champ is the first ever South African UFC world champion, following his title win over the controversial American Sean Strickland last year.

Check out the best UK bookmakers to claim free bets worth up to £850!

He successfully defended his belt later on in the year, against former-two time middleweight UFC champion Israel Adesanya, submitting him with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round. The deal comes in perfect time for Du Plessis’ next UFC performance as he prepares to defend his title under his new sponsor at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia, on 8 February.

Betway have been around since 2006 and have long been involved with sponsoring athletes as well as a variety of different Premier League football teams. Currently the bookmaker is West Ham's longest-running shirt sponsor, the official global partner of Manchester City, the official European betting partner of Chelsea and the exclusive global betting partner of Brighton.

Further, in an effort to increase its footfall in South Africa the company has also created, and are the title sponsors of, the Betway SA20 - South Africa’s new T20 league, which launched in 2023. 

Praising the new partnership and support from the betting company, Du Plessis said: “Betway having chosen to invest in me and my sport is a tremendous honour. Knowing that this collaboration creates opportunities for aspiring MMA athletes and South African sports talents, provides me with a great sense of pride and motivation to maintain our country’s championship status – you can bet on that!”

Speaking on the new partnership with the UFC champion, Betway Africa’s head of marketing Mark Rowles commented: “At Betway, we pride ourselves on aligning our globally recognised brand with exceptional sporting properties such as the Betway SA20, Betway Premiership, and the Springboks, as well as working with inspirational sports stars and we are immensely proud to have Dricus join us. 

“He’s a great ambassador for South Africa and African MMA. He has established himself as one of the top MMA athletes in the world, his ‘International Fighter of the Year’ award is testament to the incredible year he has had in the UFC and we wish him well for his title defence at UFC 312. We’re all behind the champ.”