A former heavyweight wants to see Dricus du Plessis move up two weight classes after UFC 319.
UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis faces arguably the toughest test of his middleweight title reign at UFC 319. Du Plessis and undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev headline a stacked card in Chicago, in Chimaev’s long-awaited first title shot.
Du Plessis hasn’t fought above the middleweight limit in his MMA career, fighting as low as 170 lbs as he garnered experience in South Africa. His recent wins over the likes of Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland have skyrocketed Du Plessis’s stock in the middleweight GOAT conversation.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan has repeatedly touted Du Plessis’s size for the middleweight division, labeling the titleholder as massive for the weight class. Another UFC analyst believes Du Plessis can become the first fighter in the promotion’s history to win three belts.
- DDP DOOMED?: Insider from Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 camp reveals improvement that could spell trouble for Dricus du Plessis
Brendan Schaub forecasts Dricus du Plessis to fight at heavyweight after UFC 319
Du Plessis’s return at UFC 319 comes at a time in which multiple top stars, including Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, have hinted at pursuing belts at multiple weight classes. While the UFC isn’t fond of the idea of champions fighting in different divisions, this leaves the door open for Du Plessis to follow suit.
During a recent appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub pushed for Du Plessis to move to his old stomping grounds following UFC 319.
“I think whoever wins out of Khamzat and DDP, whoever wins that, can go for three belts,” Schaub said of Du Plessis.
Schaub then compared Du Plessis and Chimaev’s physical measurements ahead of UFC 319, and believes a heavyweight Du Plessis would be a more natural fit.
“DDP’s bigger than Khamzat. So [looking at] light heavyweight, he’s probably a light heavyweight naturally,” Schaub opined. “So it makes sense for DDP to go to light heavyweight. Heavyweight isn’t a stretch for him.
“DDP’s a big boy.”
Du Plessis was close to potentially moving up to challenge then-UFC light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira, before Pereira lost to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313. Pereira returns at UFC 320 next month and has teased a heavyweight move before he ultimately hangs up the gloves.
If Du Plessis can get past Chimaev, the South African star could make a dramatic change for his next appearance in the Octagon. But one middleweight star isn’t putting a lot of stock in Du Plessis’s chances to hand Chimaev his first-career defeat.
Middleweight star scoffs at Dricus du Plessis’s chances to stop Khamzat Chimaev
UFC middleweight Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov predicted that Chimaev would run through Du Plessis in the UFC 319 headliner. After Magomedov’s recent win at UFC Abu Dhabi, Du Plessis trolled the star middleweight on social media in a bizarre tweet.
Many are predicting Chimaev to dethrone Du Plessis in their upcoming UFC 319 headliner. Chimaev, who is unbeaten in his UFC tenure with middleweight wins over Robert Whittaker and Kamaru Usman, has been teased as a future titleholder for years.
But Du Plessis possesses a unique style that could Chimaev fits when they meet in the Octagon. He’s proven to have great takedown defense, an attribute needed against an elite grappler like Chimaev.
If Du Plessis stops Chimaev at UFC 319, expect him to get the last laugh against his haters, including Magomedov.