Dricus du Plessis has made a habit out of antagonizing his opponents.
The middleweight champion has made it clear that he doesn’t go into fights with the intention of trying to play mind games and implement some verbal warfare.
‘Stillknocks’ believes that he just matches the intensity from his opponents, with du Plessis recently giving high praise to a fellow top middleweight.
There hasn’t necessarily been a war of words between him and Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 319, but that doesn’t mean that the hype for this fight hasn’t reached fever pitch.
The final face-off between du Plessis and Chimaev gave fans one last look at the two men who will be competing for the 185 pound title in a matter of hours.
- LATEST NEWS: Dricus du Plessis gets a confidence boost for UFC 319 after Khamzat Chimaev reveals worrying mindset
Dricus du Plessis claims it was ‘easy’ to get under Khamzat Chimaev’s skin during their final face off
After facing off with Khamzat Chimaev at the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday, Dricus du Plessis gave his initial thoughts on what had just gone down.
As he previously stated, ‘DDP’ is happy to keep things cordial with his opponents but if they want to go after him in any way, he’ll be a willing participant in whatever game they choose.
Both men were intense in the stare down, which led to du Plessis coming to the conclusion that he has gotten to his undefeated challenger.
He revealed why he believes this when in briefly speaking to the UFC about the stare down and what it means for what might be the best fight of the year.
“My man, that’s how easy it is to get under that guy’s skin, man. He reacted like that because he saw a real man in front of him. A real middleweight, and he’s going to feel it tomorrow night.”
Unsurprisingly, Chimaev’s reaction to the face off was far more straightforward and to the point.
After finally completing the last of his obligations, with fight night finally arriving, ‘Borz’ made it clear that he’s ready to go.
“Just happy to be here and fight someone.”
- LATEST NEWS: UFC 319 fighter publicly apologizes to his opponent and reveals why he missed weight following cancelled bout
Dricus du Plessis’ coach believes that there were several important takeaways from their first face off
Before the ceremonial weigh-ins yesterday, Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev came face-to-face the previous day at the press conference.
Du Plessis’ head coach, Morne Visser, believes that there were several observations that he took away from this encounter during fight week.
He told Submission Radio that along with ‘Stillknocks’ establishing dominance over Chimaev by holding his hands above his, the actions of the undefeated challenger were not a good sign for him.
“If you look at that face off, you know when there’s two guys fighting in the street and one guy gets pulled away and his buddies kind of save him. Dana came in between and he pushed them apart and only then, Khamzat made a big noise.
“Why wasn’t he so arrogant when he was standing right in front of Dricus? That’s just weird for me. That just shows a little bit of weakness.”
In a matter of hours, we will finally find out who will leave Chicago with the UFC middleweight title.