Dricus du Plessis believes that at UFC 319, despite being dominated by Khamzat Chimaev for the first four rounds of their middleweight title fight, he was confident he would either knock “Borz” out or submit the latter in the final stanza.
The South African lost his 185-pound throne to Chimaev last year. “Stillknocks” had no answer to Chimaev’s superior ground game and was taken down in the opening minutes of every round, after which “Borz” controlled du Plessis for the rest of the round.
The Chechen-born Emirati had a control time of 21 minutes and 40 seconds, scored 12 takedowns, and landed 529 total strikes at UFC 319.
However, in Round 5, Dricus du Plessis had a chance to turn the tide in his favor and not lose the title.
In the final seconds, he cracked Chimaev on the chin with a perfect combination. As Chimaev shot for a desperate takedown, the then-middleweight champion stuffed it, secured top position, and attempted to sink in a rear-naked choke. But the final buzzer spoiled his plans.
Dricus Du Plessis says he could feel Khamzat Chimaev quitting at UFC 319
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani show, while referencing the last minute of the UFC 319 title bout, Dricus du Plessis said:
When I went out for that last round, I was 100% certain I was either going to sub this guy or knock him out… I could feel he didn’t want to be there anymore. I could feel it… When I got on top of him, I could feel him think, ‘Oh sh*t.’ I know I could make that man quit.”
Du Plessis also added that although Chimaev’s performance at UFC 319 was great, he would never pay to watch such a “terrible” fight.
It was a good performance. The fight was just terrible. I would have hated it if I paid to watch that.”
In the same interview, he added that he rewatches his fight with Khamzat Chimaev twice a week to make sure he doesn’t make the same mistakes again.
I watch the fight a lot and make sure that those mistakes don’t happen again… Maybe like twice a week.”
Dricus du Plessis is targeting a May return, and his next bout should be announced soon.
Chimaev, on the other hand, is expected to make the first defense of his middleweight gold post-Ramadan, potentially against Nassourdine Imavov or Sean Strickland.
