The UFC middleweight championship wasn’t built for Dricus du Plessis, he took it by force. That honor seemed reserved for Khamzat Chimaev, whom many deemed a future champion early on. Maybe that’s why Du Plessis is a betting underdog at UFC 319 in Chicago. But make no mistake: he’s not looking to prove anything to anyone but himself on Saturday.
Du Plessis is an underdog for his third title defense. It’s not the first time people have sold him short. Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker opened as favorites for their respective fights with Du Plessis. He violently stopped them both. Chimaev, by contrast, has never been the underdog. As people clamored for Chimaev’s eventual ascent to champion, Du Plessis went ahead and did it.
“Odds don’t make fights, fighters do. The odds have never dictated how I fight,” Du Plessis told CBS Sports. “Saying that I became everything people thought Khamzat would be, I agree with that. That’s because I’m built differently. I’ll show that again on the 16th.”
Chimaev’s rise stalled due to health, weight and reported travel issues. During that time, Du Plessis stayed active. It shows not only in the gold around his waist, but in the quality of his wins: four victories over former UFC champions compared to Chimaev’s two. Du Plessis also hasn’t shied from danger. He demanded to fight Chimaev before the UFC booked his rematch with Sean Strickland.
UFC 319 fight card — Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev: Five biggest storylines to watch in Chicago
Brian Campbell
“It’s the ultimate goal of being the greatest to do this,” Du Plessis said. “To be the greatest, it’s not how many guys you beat or how long you were at the top; it’s about who you beat while you were there. I don’t want to be the guy who held the belt and selected opponents. I want to fight the best of the best and that’s what I’ve been doing.
“If you look at our records, Khamzat has eight wins in the UFC and I have nine. Go compare our resumes, it’s ridiculous.”
It’s easy to see why people underestimate Du Plessis. By his admission, his style is inelegant. He marauds into his opponents, throwing everything but the kitchen sink — an abnormal yet supremely effective approach. Du Plessis believes the totality of his game exceeds the primary skills of his peers. He overcame Adesanya’s decorated kickboxing and Sean Strickland’s awkward defense. He expects to do the same with Chimaev’s wrestling.
“From a wrestling and grappling perspective, he does not do something that hasn’t been seen before,” Du Plessis said.
“I don’t think there’s been a lot of guys that do it the way I do it. And when it comes to pure wrestling and pure grappling, of course, Khamzat is amazing, but this is different… It’s not wrestling and it’s not grappling. It’s MMA.”
Check out the full interview with Dricus du Plessis below.
Few opponents have gone the distance with Du Plessis. He breaks them down in waves until their defenses collapse. Du Plessis embodies Mike Tyson’s iconic quote, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” In every fight, Du Plessis has sensed the moment someone falters. He believes that Chimaev is destined for the same fate.
“You can see some tells when you look at the body language,” Du Plessis said. “You sense it like a predator senses its prey is weak. You can see it in the aura.”
Chimaev’s nickname “Borz” translates to “wolf,” a fitting moniker for a fighter who lunges and clamps onto foes with rabid precision. Chimaev and his many supporters see him as the UFC’s apex predator. But Du Plessis is the king of the middleweight jungle. He’s tracked Chimaev for a long time, and at UFC 319, he’s going wolf hunting.
