UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has no doubt he can match Khamzat Chimaev’s physical prowess.
Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC) turned his attention to Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) after the unbeaten contender ran through Robert Whittaker for a first-round submission this past Saturday at UFC 308. Chimaev’s strength and grappling proved to be too much once again, but Du Plessis says “Borz” won’t be able to impose his will on him.
“When I fight, I don’t know how to back up,” Du Plessis told TMZ. “I’m going to go out there and fight you. We’ve seen this with Khamzat, slowing down after the first round, round-and-a-half, and I think that is because he uses so much power.
“He has the wrestling technique, of course, but he uses his strength as a weapon. In this case, he has a gun, and I have a tank when it comes to the strength. There’s not a middleweight that’s going to overpower me. It’s not going to happen.”
In the UFC 308 post-fight news conference, Chimaev was asked by MMA Junkie about Du Plessis’ grappling, which he immediately dismissed – but the champion issued him a warning.
“If it’s Khamzat, you think you’re strong, you think you’re powerful, you have not felt anything,” Du Plessis said. “And I can’t wait until I see it on his face because I see it on every single person I fight’s face. When they realize, ‘Oh sh*t.’ That’s the message.”
Du Plessis also explained his decision of pivoting to Chimaev over a Sean Strickland (29-6 MMA, 16-6 UFC) rematch. Du Plessis claimed the middleweight title by edging out Strickland at UFC 297, a fight Strickland believes he won.
“I completely welcome the Strickland rematch. I’d love to get that finish because for Sean, he needs a win back, I need a finish,” Du Plessis said. “He doesn’t mind to fight boring fights like most of his fights. That’s why he has seven or eight split decision wins. For me, I want to fight a guy like Khamzat to throw down. Not say that he’s going to then jab for five rounds. Myself and Sean, it was a close fight, but there was no doubt in my mind that I won that fight. … Strickland just beat Paulo Costa in a very boring fight once again, right after our fight.
“Whether it was close or not, it’s still a loss. Khamzat, they’ve hyped up this guy for so long, but he hasn’t come to fruition. He hasn’t lost, but the fight cancellations and him being sick. Sometimes that’s out of our control. But he was the first guy to ever submit Rob, and he did it in the first round, and that warrants him jumping the gun on Sean Strickland for me. If you ask me personally, that’s a fight I would rather want because that’s a fight the people want. It’s a fight more fans want, and I believe Khamzat is the next best guy.”
