Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Dricus Du Plessis issues a warning for Khamzat Chimaev

Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Dricus Du Plessis has had three title defense fights and has won every single one of them. He’s defeated Sean Strickland twice via decision and has also choked out Israel Adesanya. So is he the best in the middleweight category now? And what’s next for Du Plessis? Well for starters, he still hasn’t taken down the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev and if he does, Du Plessis has showed some interest to take on Alex Pereira. However, Chimaev will be his first challenge. So who would win between the two?

Just for clarification I preferred the Khamzat fight but the rematch is a fight most wanted before Khamzat vs Withaker. I’m not unhappy with the UFC’s decision like I said I’ll fight the man fans think is the next best guy he was promised the fight so Strickland it is.
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) December 10, 2024

How has Du Plessis and Chimaev performed so far?

Du Plessis has a 23-2-0 record in his MMA career so far, but has not lost a fight yet in the UFC. He’s fought in 9 UFC fights so far and has come out on top every time. He fought a lot of middleweight greats including Robert Whittaker, Izzy, Strickland, and many more. He is a Swiss army knife who can do it all, whether it’s knocking out opponent, making his opponents tap out, or being durable and winning via decisions. Both the times he faced Strickland, he absolutely decimated him and even though the fight was decided via decision, it does not tell the kind of beatdown he put Sean through.

Also Read: Israel Adesanya’s Heartwarming FaceTime To His Rival Is The Best Thing You Will See Today

He's got the whole country behind him 💪🇿🇦@DricusDuPlessis looks bring the belt back to South Africa once again after #UFC312!

🎥: @SuperSportTV pic.twitter.com/WpuWvViKMF
— UFC (@ufc) February 6, 2025

Meanwhile for Chimaev, he is 14-0-0 in his MMA career so far and has won all of his 8 UFC fights so far. Chimaev is most feared for his submissions as we’ve seen him choke out his opponents, time and time again. He’s been desperate for a title shot and is hungry to prove that he’s the best middleweight in the UFC. It’s been 5 years since he made his UFC debut and has not fought in a single title fight yet. When Dana White was asked about Chimaev’s chances for a title fight, all he said was “he’s in the line.” We do not even know if the fight will happen but Du Plessis recently stated that he wants to fight Chimaev and become the UFC’s current Middleweight GOAT.

Du Plessis can’t wait to fight Khamzat Chimaev

After his win against Sean Strickland in UFC 312, Du Plessis talked about who he wants to fight next and his answer was Khamzat Chimaev before anyone else. He certainly wants to take on Pereira too but that will have to wait according to him. Du Plessis said “No Khamzat’s first.” he continued “I just wanna beat Alex Pereira, it’s nothing personal, it’s just… Pereira is such a legend in the sport to me already that it would be amazing to beat him, for my legacy. I wanna be the greatest to ever do this but Khamzat’s next. Khamzat is next.”

“I wanna make sure that this belt, the middleweight title, that there’s no question that I’m the GOAT, of the middleweight division. And I know that you have Anderson Silva. In my mind he’s the GOAT of this (middleweight) division and you have Adesanya who’s done incredible things. But it’s not about how many times you’re just defending (the title). It’s about who you fight. How you defended and how you’ve done it, and what period of time have you done it, and who’ve you fought. And making sure that there’s no question that I’m best middleweight, then going up. So I’m not rushing that my next fight is Alex Pereira… I want Khamzat next. I think he deserves a hiding.”

When the reporter asks if Du Plessis had a message for Khamzat, he said “Stay out of the cold,” since Khamzat had previously caught COVID which threatened to end his young UFC career.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MMA Fighting (@mmafighting)

Also Read: ‘He’s Not Conor McGregor’ – Paddy Pimblett Weighs In On Ilia Topuria Moving Up

Dricus Du Plessis

Khamzat Chimaev

NFL

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.