Dricus du Plessis is a tough man to put away.
After a perfect 9-0 start to his UFC run, the former UFC Middleweight Champion suffered his first loss in the Octagon in his last time out against Khamzat Chimaev.
The undefeated title challenger dominated the South African du Plessis with his wrestling for five rounds, unable to finish the champion en route to a unanimous decision victory at UFC 319.
Following his title loss, a top middleweight contender says he’d be down to fight ‘Stillknocks’.
Paulo Costa wants Dricus du Plessis over Israel Adesanya rematch
Paulo Costa is ranked #13 in the world after defeating Roman Kopylov at UFC 318.
The former title challenger fought then-champion Israel Adesanya in 2021 and has wins over the likes of Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero, and Johny Hendricks. Costa has claimed in the past he’s the man to dethrone Chimaev.
While Costa has yet to avenge his loss to Adesanya, ‘The Eraser’ is more interested in fighting the now former champ du Plessis.
“The both of them sounds good,” Costa told Submission Radio.
“But yeah, Dricus is better because he’s fresh from the belt.
“Unpredictable,” Costa said of a potential fight with du Plessis.
“He’s so unpredictable…
“He’s a tough guy. Tough guy to fight, to be honest.”
Costa says he’d like to return in November or December.
Paulo Costa claims Khamzat Chimaev was afraid to fight Dricus du Plessis ‘fairly’
A lot was made of the UFC 319 main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis.
It was a one-sided fight from Chimaev, with fans either calling his shutout performance boring or super impressive, especially for the wrestler’s first time going five rounds.
As for Costa, the Brazilian thinks the new champion wanted nothing to do with du Plessis on the feet.
“[Du Plessis is] very tough and Khamzat Chimaev knew that,” Costa continued.
“That’s why he [held] him for so long. And even the fifth round, Dricus was still dangerous.
“Chimaev was afraid to fight him fairly,” Costa claimed.
“He just [held] the guy for five [rounds], 25 minutes…”