The Pretoria-born fighter is now confirmed to be among 15 entries on that prestigious ranking after defeating Englishman Darren Till by submission in the third round at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last month.

He was confident then that this would be the likely outcome and the division now also has a new champion after Alex Pereira took the belt from Israel Adesanya four weeks prior via a technical knockout after five rounds.

So, the middleweight category has a new title holder and it’s been suggested that Adesanya, who is from New Zealand, is already gearing up for a re-match next year with reports in the USA also punting him as the bookies’ favourite to reclaim the championship.

Du Plessis is further down the pecking order, but he is getting close.

The 28-year-old is expected to return to the hexagon in March, possibly when UFC host the next event in London.

When he spoke following his win over Englishman Till, there was confidence that he had indeed made his mark having made the most of being upgraded to the main card in Las Vegas at the very last minute.

“I got a proper stamp into the Top 10 of the division by getting the fight of the night. I said in my last fight I would be here, and I am telling you guys now that I will be a title contender by the end of 2023,” Du Plessis told the media at the time.

UFC are yet to confirm his official dates for next year, although March looks more likely to be the set time frame when he will return to the ring.

Top 10 UFC middleweight ranking

Israel Adesanya

Robert Whittaker

Jared Cannonier

Marvin Vettori

Derek Brunson

Paulo Costa

Sean Strickland

Roman Dolidze

Jack Hermansson

Dricus Du Plessis

Finished ICC Mens T20 World Cup