Former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis is not expecting any curveballs if he gets a second crack at Khamzat Chimaev.
In a recent interview with Fight Forecast, Du Plessis (23-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) reflected on his lopsided loss to Chimaev (15-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) at UFC 319 last August, a five-round bout defined by relentless grappling pressure. Over 25 minutes, Chimaev controlled the action with dominant wrestling, neutralizing Du Plessis’ offense and cruising to a unanimous decision to claim the middleweight title. The grinding performance drew criticism from some fans who labeled it uneventful, but Du Plessis isn’t questioning its legitimacy.
“Fighting Khamzat again is of course what I’m after,” Du Plessis said. “Am I expecting any surprises? No, there’s not going to be any surprises. That is the way he’s going to fight.”
Chimaev’s approach was straightforward: close distance, secure takedowns, and maintain suffocating top control. Du Plessis acknowledged that deviating from that formula would make little sense for the reigning champion.
“If he tries anything different, it will be a terrible night,” Du Plessis said. “We all know that. He did what he had to do to win that belt. You can’t hate on him for that. It’s the rules of the game, and he did it.”
While Du Plessis admitted the style clash didn’t produce the kind of fight he prefers, he stopped short of criticizing Chimaev’s tactics.
“It’s not how I would win my belt or would like to, but that’s what he did,” he said.
Now, Du Plessis believes the burden is on him to make adjustments. Rather than expecting a different version of Chimaev, he plans to ensure a different outcome.
“It’s my responsibility to fix that,” Du Plessis said, “to stop him from doing that again and get him to fight my fight.”
