The UFC matchmakers won’t be happy to hear what Dricus du Plessis potentially leaked to the public.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is less than two months away from facing the undefeated juggernaut Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in Chicago. It will arguably be the toughest test for Du Plessis and Chimaev’s careers, after dismantling all of their previous UFC adversaries.
Du Plessis is looking to stop Chimaev’s meteoric rise after the Chechen submitted his former rival, Robert Whittaker, at UFC 308 last October. A win over Chimaev would likely skyrocket Du Plessis up the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings and add to his all-time great legacy.
UFC 319 features the middleweight return of Michael ‘Venom’ Page, along the comeback fights of former title challengers Kai Asakura and Jared Cannonier. But if Du Plessis’s recent claims are true, the UFC 319 co-main event has yet to be unveiled, and features two of the UFC’s biggest stars.
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Dricus du Plessis drops major leak ahead of UFC 319 card in Chicago
We’re just days removed from an eventful night at UFC 317 as Ilia Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title. Islam Makhachev vacated the belt to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC welterweight championship later this year.
After knocking out Oliveira, Topuria had a hostile faceoff with Paddy Pimblett that quickly turned physical. Luckily, security personnel were able to intervene before the two heated rivals threw hands in the cage.
Topuria and Pimblett’s faceoff led many to believe that it was the next UFC lightweight title fight. But according to du Plessis, the UFC matchmakers have yet to solidify Topuria’s first lightweight title defense, and UFC 319 will provide some answers to those persistent questions.
In a recent cameo on content creator Ahmed Amwell‘s YouTube channel, du Plessis said that the UFC 319 co-main event will feature a lightweight showdown between Pimblett and former BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje.
As of this writing, the UFC has yet to formally announce the full lineup for UFC 319, including what will fill the co-main event slot. Pimblett and Gaethje have both kept their next UFC bookings quiet in recent days, signaling that du Plessis’s claims might be proven true.
Gaethje threatened to retire if he was passed up for the next lightweight title shot. But a win over Pimblett would almost certainly solidify his position as Topuria’s first lightweight title challenger.
As for Pimblett, a win over Gaethje would secure a showdown with Topuria, a man who he has publicly admitted he ‘hates’. The two lightweights kicked off their intense feud during a fighter hotel brawl in 2022 in London.
Justin Gaethje hits potential retirement delay after leaked Paddy Pimblett showdown
Gaethje hasn’t fought since defeating Rafael Fiziev in their UFC 313 rematch earlier this year. Before defeating Fiziev, Gaethje hadn’t competed since a stunning buzzer-beating knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300.
Pimblett moved up the lightweight rankings by finishing Gaethje’s former rival, Michael Chandler, at UFC 314. He remains unbeaten in his UFC tenure with recent wins over Tony Ferguson and Bobby Green.
The rumored Pimblett vs. Gaethje fight puts No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan on the outside of the title picture. As of this writing, Tsarukyan remains unbooked for his UFC return after his stunning withdrawal from UFC 311 earlier this year.
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