Dricus du Plessis believes Khamzat Chimaev will have a difficult time at UFC 319.
The title fight is scheduled to take place on Aug. 16. “Stillknocks” is looking for his third successful UFC middleweight title defense when he shares the Octagon with “Borz.” Ahead of the fight, many are wondering if Chimaev’s cardio will be up to the task if the fight goes into deep waters.
Even if Chimaev can last, du Plessis told FOX 32 Chicago that he doesn’t think the challenger will be able to find someone who can emulate his fighting style (via MMAJunkie).
“With my style that is a very controversial style in the UFC, unlike anything that most people have ever seen,” du Plessis said. “It’s only a benefit because it’s proven to be effective. But then again, how do you prepare for that? How do you find somebody to mimic that? And at the end of the day, that’s almost my niche. It’s impossible to prepare for me because I have this unique style that, where do you find somebody to mimic it?”
As expected, du Plessis isn’t concerned about being the betting underdog given it’s a situation he’s been in before.
“I’m the underdog, I’ve been the underdog for most of my career, yet I am the champion,” Du Plessis said. “So, odds don’t make fights and for me, I 100 percent believe this is the best opponent that I have faced to date. But so was the previous one.”
Having beaten the likes of Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, and Sean Strickland twice, du Plessis is hoping to continue adding to his resume. A win over Chimaev would likely mean “DDP” will face either Reinier de Ridder or the winner of Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho. Dricus du Plessis vows to show he’s made improvements even from his last one-sided showing against Strickland.
