UFC 319 was a tough night at the office for Dricus Du Plessis, as he lost his belt to Khamzat Chimaev. The South African struggled to impose his game on Chimaev and lost the fight via unanimous decision. It was a thoroughly dominant performance from Chimaev, which saw him rack up over 21 minutes of control time and land a record-breaking 529 strikes.
It was perhaps Chimaev’s most impressive performance yet. Whilst he did not get the finish that he usually does, he showed his ability to utterly dominate a fight with his grappling for five rounds against a fighter in Du Plessis who is no slouch on the ground. For Du Plessis, it was a frustrating night, as he was unable to give Khamzat any real trouble, apart from in the fifth round, where he was able to establish a full mount and attempt a submission.
Du Plessis was complimentary of Chimaev after the fight. During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he said, “He’s just like a blanket. It wasn’t a matter of strength; it wasn’t that physical. It was almost as if he knew what your next move was going to be. He got it without using too much power, and I had to decide if I was going to be on my back or have him on my back. At the end, I went for it, I had the back. I could almost taste that victory, but big ups to Khamzat.”
It seems unlikely that DDP will get an immediate rematch, with Dana White hinting that the winner of either Nassourdine Imavov Vs. Caio Borralho or Anthony Hernandez Vs. Reinier de Ridder will be next in line for Chimaev. This will mean that Du Plessis will need at least one win before he can challenge for the belt again.
It seems more likely that the winner of Imavov Vs. Borralho will be next in line for a shot at the title, as they are currently ranked number two and seven, respectively. This will probably mean that the winner of De Ridder Vs. Hernandez will be next for Du Plessis.
Both fights would be very intriguing matchups for DDP. There were many fans online calling for DDP Vs. RDR following UFC 319. Both fighters are very well-rounded and have very aggressive styles of fighting. It would be an intriguing matchup that would no doubt lead to fireworks. RDR’s most recent win against Robert Whittaker proved that he deserves to be in the top five, as he was able to employ his grappling and striking to edge out a decision against the former champion.
A fight against Hernandez would also be a very intriguing stylistic fight. Hernandez has shown great BJJ skills and elite cardio in the UFC, so it would be interesting to see how DDP would deal with him. Both fighters have high finishing rates, so it would be a highly anticipated bout should it happen.
There are several other intriguing matchups for DDP at Middleweight, including rematches against Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, who were both defeated by DDP; however, they seem more unlikely than the previously named matchups. Perhaps a fight against the loser of Imavov Vs Borralho is also on the cards for DDP. Whilst DDP did lose easily at the weekend, he did not take much damage, so he can make a quick turnaround.
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