Dricus du Plessis believes Khamzat Chimaev will be questioning himself ahead of UFC 319.
The Russian phenom has been close to perfect during his 14-0 run in mixed martial arts.
Khamzat Chimaev‘s only area of concern has been his gas tank running low during three-round fights.
Dricus du Plessis insists that it will be playing on his opponent’s mind ahead of their five-round clash for middleweight gold on Saturday night.
- LATEST NEWS: Khamzat Chimaev ‘looks massive’ as he towers over Dricus Du Plessis in first meeting ahead of UFC 319
Dricus du Plessis highlights Khamzat Chimaev’s major doubt
Du Plessis has gone into the championship rounds and emerged victorious from fights with Sean Strickland and Israel Adesanya.
The South African superstar knows his gas tank will hold up if he’s forced to go the full 25 minutes.
Chimaev doesn’t have that same luxury after struggling in three-round fights with Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns.
“We entered the UFC at the same time. I’m on my third title defense, he’s fighting for his first title,” Du Plessis told UFC Unfiltered.
“You know, experience plays its role. Being there for five rounds. ‘I kill everybody. I smash everybody’. Great! In your head, you know that you haven’t been able to fight at the pace you want to once the third round comes.
“Now you know you have to fight that fifth round. Doing it in training is completely different. Now you’re in a fight, you know, ‘What do I do if this goes five rounds?’ So, are you going to now to conserve energy in the first and second? Then you are not fighting your fight.
“We saw with the [Robert] Whittaker fight, he’s not going to do that, he went out full speed once again.
“In his mind, he has the doubt. I don’t have the doubt because I went full speed with Strickland in the first and second fight and won the decision. The same thing with Adesanya. I got the fourth-round finish.
“I know I can go in there and push the pace for five rounds, if I have to.”
Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev meet ahead of UFC 319
On Tuesday, the UFC 319 headliners bumped into each other for the first time during fight week.
Chimaev ‘looked massive’ as he towered over Du Plessis, who is viewed as the more natural 185lb fighter.
Du Plessis addressed concerns about the size difference after his meeting with Chimaev went viral.
“I mean, maybe it was the angle,” the UFC middleweight champion told Helen Yee.
“I haven’t seen the video, but I can promise you — you’ll see, you’ll see.
“I stood in front of him. He is definitely not taller than me,” Du Plessis continued. “Maybe a little; maybe like, half an inch. Yeah, you’ll see.
“And the other thing, I don’t give a s— how big he is. That’s not what wins fights. But yeah, I saw him, he is definitely not bigger than me.”