Latest news with #Dricus
The South African
3 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
UFC 319: What time is Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat? Fight details revealed
UFC 319 will be headlined by a clash of the titans when Dricus Du Plessis defends his middleweight championship against Khamzat. Dricus ' Stilknox ' Du Plessis faces his toughest title defence yet when hedefends his middleweight title against the brutal – and undefeated – Khamzat Chimaev in the octagon on Sunday in Chicago. Both fighters are undefeated in their UFC careers. So, something has to give when these two beasts unleash their claws on one another in what is set to be a brutal and ferocious fight. The main card starts at 04:00 on Sunday morning in South Africa. Meaning, an early start for Dricus fans accross SA on Sunday, 19 August. Du Plessis vs Khamzat is the main event so they will be the last fight of the evening. Four fights will take place before them. Their is a flyweight bout between Timm Elliott from the USA and Japanese fighter, Kai Asakura. Thereafter, Jared Cannonier takes on Michael Page in a middleweight bout. There is also a welterweight bought between Geoff Neil and Carlos Prates of Brazil. Therefore, the starting time for Dricus vs Khamzat will be determined by how long these fights take. Please note – The fight is set to take place on 16 August in the United Stated of America but it is on Sunday morning in SA. UFC 319 main card starts at 04:00 am (SA Time). Event: UFC 319 Main Event: Dricus Du Plessis v Khamzat Chimaev Title: UFC Middleweight Championship Date: Sunday, August 17 Location: United Centre, Chicago. Du Plessis and Khamzat have not lost once in their UFC career's. Dricus has a 23-2 record but he has not lost a fight since October 2018. Thus, remaining undefeated in the UFC. Meanwhile, his opponent, Khamzat has a 14-0 streak in his MMA career. Therefore, one of these men will lose for their first time in their UFC Careers.
Economic Times
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
Dricus du Plessis could move to light heavyweight or heavyweight, says Brendan Schaub
Dricus du Plessis could move up in weight after UFC 319 title fight UFC middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis is currently preparing for his upcoming title defense against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on August 16. While du Plessis remains focused on his middleweight title reign, future plans may involve a shift to higher weight classes, according to former UFC heavyweight and MMA commentator Brendan Schaub. Du Plessis, who has successfully defended his middleweight title twice, will look to hand Chimaev his first professional loss in the octagon. Chimaev enters the bout as a slight betting favorite across major sportsbooks. Despite the odds, du Plessis has previously defeated high-caliber opponents, including Israel Adesanya and Robert fought first in EFC (Extreme Fighting Championship) in Africa and was also a national wrestler for South Africa. The South African's famous duel, with Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland where he got popular for his famous trash talk skills along with his fighting skills. Dricus had to defend his middleweight belt twice both against Dricus goes up against Chimaev for the middleweight title. The odds are against Dricus, as fan favourites believe the reason for this is because there is no odds against Chimaev after his beatdown on longest reigning middleweight title holder Robert Whittaker, in the first round, submitting and breaking his jaw. Chimaev stands undefeated, so is Dricus except, only in the UFC and two losses in his total professional MMA career. Alex Pereira wanted to fight Dricus, but, Dricus said that he would make the fight after his Chimaev fight, by moving to light read: Ronda Rousey comeback talk heats up ahead of possible White House UFC CardAppearing on the 'JAXXON Podcast,' Schaub discussed the broader implications of the UFC 319 main event. He suggested that the winner of du Plessis vs. Chimaev could eventually pursue titles across multiple divisions.'I think for Islam it made sense,' Schaub said. 'For Topuria, I still [think] he had some work to do, but for Makhachev it made sense to jump up to '70. He can definitely capture '55, '70. '85's a different animal because you have guys like DDP and Khamzat.'I think whoever wins out of Khamzat and DDP, whoever wins that can go for three belts. DDP's bigger than Khamzat, so light heavyweight, he's probably a light heavyweight naturally. So it makes sense for DDP to go to light heavyweight. Heavyweight's not as far a stretch for him. DDP's a big boy.'Speculation grows around Du Plessis' future in light heavyweight and heavyweight divisionsWhile du Plessis has more potential contenders to face at middleweight if successful at UFC 319, Schaub's comments suggest the 185-pound champion may not remain in his current division indefinitely. Du Plessis' size and build, according to Schaub, make him a natural candidate for light heavyweight, with heavyweight also a viable long-term idea of multi-division champions has gained traction in recent years, with several UFC fighters attempting to capture titles in multiple weight classes. Should du Plessis continue his momentum, a transition to light heavyweight or even heavyweight could position him for historic achievements within the promotion. For now, however, the primary focus remains on UFC 319. Fans and analysts alike await the middleweight clash between du Plessis and Chimaev, which could determine more than just the current status of the 185-pound division.
USA Today
25-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Gilbert Burns: 'Unbelievably strong' Dricus Du Plessis beats Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319
ABU DHABI – Gilbert Burns has experience hitting the mats with both Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev. Middleweight champion Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) defends his title against Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the UFC 319 headliner on Aug. 16 from United Center in Chicago (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). Burns gave Chimaev arguably his toughest test to date when he pushed him to the brink in an all-out war at UFC 273. The former title challenger has also trained with Du Plessis before, so was able to give insight on their championship fight. "It's a very tough fight," Burns told MMA Junkie. "Dricus is a monster. I trained a lot with Dricus when he was at Hard Knocks, unbelievably strong for that division, very big too, crazy gas tank. He looks tired, you look at him, 'Oh, he's getting tired,' but he's not. Hits very hard, does both stances, grappling defense is get a lot better. I think right now he's going to focus on that to not get submitted. "And guess what? If Chimaev doesn't finish him in the first, or give him one more round, the second round, I don't think he can. I think it's going to be a long night, and Dricus can keep coming, keep coming. He gets stronger as the rounds are going. The guy doesn't quit, he doesn't break so, I got to go with Dricus on that one." Although Chimaev has opted for a different look this camp by working with Sam Calavitta for his strength and conditioning, Burns doesn't see it making a difference. "He just got in the U.S. three, four weeks ago, I don't think it's going to be enough," Burns said. "Maybe even pushing too hard right now, it might be breaking him. When I saw that I said maybe, but when I saw the timing, I don't think so. I think Dricus is winning that one."
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Reinier de Ridder won't mind if Dricus Du Plessis or Khamzat Chimaev wins at UFC 319
Reinier de Ridder has a vested interest in the UFC 319 main event. De Ridder (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will look to emerge into title contention when he takes on former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) in the UFC on ABC 9 main event July 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Less than a month later, Dricus Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) defends his middleweight title against undefeated Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the Aug. 16 main event from United Center in Chicago. De Ridder sees pros and cons to either fighter winning when it comes to his title run. "I think if it's going to be Khamzat, then it might slow everything a bit down because he doesn't really fight that often," De Ridder told MMA Junkie Radio. "So, that being said, it would be nice if it's Dricus, but I don't really mind too much. "Khamzat would be nice because he's more of a guy with hype behind him than Dricus does, even with Dricus being the champ. But we'll see. We'll see what happens, and I imagine I'll be fighting both of them before next year's over anyway." De Ridder has surprised in his UFC run so far, scoring finishes of Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, and most recently formerly unbeaten Bo Nickal at UFC on ESPN 67 in the span of six months. Nickal to Whittaker is a big step up in competition for the former ONE dual champion, but De Ridder doesn't see Whittaker underestimating him. "I don't know, he's not much of a trash talker anyway," De Ridder said of Whittaker. "I doubt we'll hear if he still doubts me, but we're going to find out. As you guys saw, the fights have been going very well, and I feel like I've really improved, as well, over the last year. Just because of the sheer amount I've been training with the guys of the highest level. So I don't think he's really doubting me, but we'll see."
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Incoming khamzat crying spree' - Fans speculate mental war as Khamzat Chimaev takes an unapologetic shot at Dricus Du Plessis' coaches
With a history of rigorous trash talk before their bout, middleweight fighters Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev have started raising the expectations of the fans for their upcoming bout at . The headline event will see Dricus defending his title for the third time, and Chimaev, with his undefeated pro-MMA record, fighting to secure the same. While the fighters have been constantly taunting each other, Chimaev's latest dig at Dricus's coach has taken the internet by storm, resulting in a mental war speculation by the fans. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Known for their war of words, Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus Du Plessis raise fa expectations with their pre-fight banter ahead of UFC 319 B oth Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev are known for their ways of getting into the opponent's head before their scheduled bout. The infamous incident where Sean Strickland asked one of the audience members to step aside to jump on and hit Dricus is still fresh in the minds of the fans at UFC 296. Chimaev, while racking up an undefeated record of 14-0, has also stepped out of line in taunting his opponents in the past. The fighter's recent post sheds light on the ways he could go in waging a mental war against his opponents. Chimaev, on the social media platform X, posted a picture of Dricus with his coaches while captioning it with doughnut emojis followed by a laughing emoji. The picture dates back to the time when Dricus secured the middleweight championship belt against Strickland at UFC 297. Borz's post generated a significant reaction from the fans as a section of them believes that Dricus will undoubtedly retain the championship belt post the headline event. One of the users wrote, 'That's gonna be the exact photo after the fight, Dricus still holding his belt' Another user wrote, expecting a banter between the fighters, 'I hope this tweet doesn't get deleted, I'll be here for another banger exchange' Fans are quite confident about Dricus' capabilities both in war of words as well as inside the cage. Indicating this, one of them wrote, 'You better quit while your hole isn't as deep. You're never winning a twitter war with DDP. Prepare to get clowned on here and in the cage.' "Incoming khamzat crying spree" Also read: As of this writing, Dricus has not yet responded to the tweet. The duo has been scheduled to face each other at UFC 319 to be held on August 16, 2025. With the ongoing war of words between the two, fans are gearing up for a fiery head on clash at the main event.
