The latest broadcast numbers tell the story of Dricus du Plessis’ rapid rise in popularity.
According to Nielsen Sports SA, South Africa’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight champion now draws record-breaking audiences and has a massive fan following.
Diving into the data, since his first televised fight in 2022, du Plessis’ viewership has exploded. His recent title bout against Nigeria-New Zealand fighter Israel Adesanya attracted 307 619 viewers—a significant figure for a UFC broadcast in South Africa.
Earlier in 2024, he pulled in an even larger crowd of 382 219 viewers during his bout with American Sean Strickland. These events mark the highest viewership in South Africa for UFC broadcasts.
Overall, audience numbers for Du Plessis’ fights have skyrocketed by over 1 033% since his first televised appearance. He also boasts a live unique audience more than twice the size of the best-performing non-Du Plessis UFC events.
According to Nielsen, these unprecedented figures reflect South Africans’ passion for supporting local sports heroes—even with fights scheduled for the early morning hours.
“Sport is an exceptional unifier for South Africans, providing a welcome escape from everyday life and a point of national pride when local sportspeople excel internationally,” said commercial manager at Nielsen Sports SA, Duncan Stead.
“We saw the unwavering loyalty from SA fans arriving at the airport to welcome back the champ. This national zeitgeist is a significant win for South African fans and brands alike.”
Patriotic South Africans
According to the latest viewership numbers, Du Plessis’ fans also stayed engaged, showing up in record numbers and tuning in without changing channels.
The stats have further revealed that 61% of the live viewers on SuperSport watched at least 75% of the broadcast—setting another record for UFC viewership in the country.
Beyond live broadcasts, du Plessis’ fights have also been replayed frequently, with 28% of viewers watching more than once.
In total, South African viewers logged over 605 652 broadcast hours for his bouts, with 528 767 unique viewers tuning in. This is a massive feat for a mixed martial arts (MMA) broadcast in South Africa, writes BizCommunity.
Gauteng, meanwhile, led the national reach, accounting for 29% of the total audience.
Making broadcasts available in multiple languages (English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa) has also made his fights more accessible.
Dricus du Plessis’ Springbok walk-in
Dricus du Plessis’ growing stature in South African sports was underscored when Springbok rugby captains Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth joined him for his walk-in at the Adesanya fight in Perth.
These kind of collaborations between sports stars from different codes increase UFC’s engagement appeal.
Did you become a Dricus fan in 2024?
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