Dricus Du Plessis welcomes Khamzat Chimaev's aggression at UFC 319: 'Let's go full speed'
The UFC middleweight champ has witnessed Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) go all out against his opponents from the moment the referee signals for the fight to begin. In the main event of UFC 319 at the United Center, Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) says he is not only ready to deal with that intensity, but truly hopes his opponent brings that same energy he's brought in previous fights.
Of his eight UFC bouts, Chimaev has only competed in a five-round fight twice before: against Kevin Holland at UFC 279 and against former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, which was his most recent outing. Both of those fights were over in the first round. He's gone the distance in three-round fights against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman. After both of those fights, questions about his gas tank were prevalent as he faded late.
Du Plessis, who has gone the distance in two championship bouts, is ready to test Chimaev's endurance over 25 minutes.
"I'm going out there to fight the way (I fight) and see what happens," Du Plessis told reporters at Wednesday's media day. "He didn't change his gameplan with Robert Whittaker because it was a five-rounder. That kind of already gives me the sense that he's not gonna think about the five rounds when he should be. Five rounds is a long time, and I am not scared to get into that dark place. We've seen that.
"If we go full speed, you know, I can fight tired all day. I've done that many times. So, let's go for it. Let's go from the first bell to the last. Let's go full speed and see who quits."
Chimaev has overwhelmed much of the competition behind a staunch wrestling game. Right out of the gate, he puts immense pressure on his opponent as he hunts for a takedown entry. Du Plessis believes that focusing so much on what Chimaev intends to do rather than trying to implement their own gameplan has led to their downfall.
"A lot of guys have made this mistake fighting him: Going in and saying, 'I need to watch out for that. He's gonna shoot and I need to be ready. I have to watch out.' And then they don't do anything until he does shoot and gets them down anyway," Du Plessis said. "You have to go out there and fight. Didn't you train? I understand he's really good a wrestling and is really good on the ground, but I mean, that is the game, I guess, right? If you're fighting Israel Adesanya, are you going to start on your bum and butt scoot? No. You're gonna have to fight him.
"That is how it is, and that's truly how I feel about this fight. Yes, he is gonna shoot. Yes, he is probably gonna take me down, but I'm gonna shoot too, and I'm probably gonna take him down. And I'm gonna strike, and I'm probably gonna hit him. He's gonna strike and probably hit me. I'm not scared of any of that. I go into any fight with that mindset that you might get hit – you're definitely getting hit. You might get taken down. What do you do after that?"
Du Plessis made it clear that the primary focus of this UFC 319 fight camp was in preparation for the wrestling approach. So much so that he wanted to get it "perfect." However, it's not so that he will sit back and wait to use his defensive skills. Du Plessis intends to bring the fight to Chimaev, knowing the work he put in during camp will be in his back pocket, ready to pull out when necessary.
"I'm not going out there to fight his fight," Du Plessis said. "I'm going out there to do what Dricus does, and that is be a world champion."
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