The UFC’s middleweight champion has had his undefeated challenger in his sights for some time.
While Dricus du Plessis complimented Anthony Hernandez’s win this past Saturday night, in less than a week’s time, he faces what many believe will be his toughest test.
For some time, it’s fair to say that the champion’s rise up the middleweight division was surprising to a lot of people given some of his performances.
The same cannot be said for his next opponent, Khamzat Chimaev, who was tipped for big things from the moment that he announced himself in the UFC.
While he’s had to overcome some setbacks along the way, which Chimaev has clearly factored into his training camp, it only ever seemed like a matter of time before he was facing the best in the world.
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Dricus du Plessis thought he might face Khamzat Chimaev in a super fight between champions
While Dricus du Plessis may be known as one of the sport’s most ruthless trash talkers, he has given Khamzat Chimaev plenty of credit ahead of UFC 319.
The champion spoke in a recent interview with the New York Post where he revealed that he believed they would eventually meet inside the Octagon for some time.
Like the fans, he was impressed by Chimaev’s start to life in the UFC, where he staked his claim as a contender at both welterweight and middleweight.
‘Borz’ has shifted to 185 pounds in recent years but at first, it seemed like he was on track to challenge for the welterweight belt first.
Du Plessis recently said that after immediately identifying Chimaev as an opponent that he would likely cross paths with in the future, he questioned whether the matchup would take place while both men held UFC gold around their waists.
“Watching his fights, you could see he was something special, that’s for sure, but he wasn’t in my weight so it didn’t concern me. As soon as the talks came of him going up and fighting, I just started getting the feeling I’m going to fight this guy one day.
“I had this, I’m going to be champion, I know it, and maybe he’s going to be champion in 170. Come up, fight for another title. I just got this feeling that we are going to meet up one day in the Octagon. When he moved up, I knew that this was going to happen. I knew he would beat guys in the top of the middleweight division.”
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Dricus du Plessis believes that this fight has come at the perfect time
While Khamzat Chimaev didn’t go on to conquer the welterweight division while Dricus du Plessis made his way to the top at 185 pounds, the champion still believes that this matchup is perfect timing.
‘Stillknocks’ is clearly motivated by the challenge that his next opponent brings to the table, with many fans having the UFC 319 main event high up on their list of the year’s biggest fights.
Du Plessis told New York Post Sports that he thinks his next title defense represents what mixed martial arts at its best is all about.
“Here we are. I’m not surprised that this fight happened and I’m happy that it’s here. It’s a massive fight, it’s incredible. I mean, it’s great that we get to see this and that nothing happened in a sense where he stayed in the division for too long, was out of his prime, anything like that.
“Two guys that are genuinely at the best of their abilities are fighting each other and I think that’s what the sport should be about.”