Dricus du Plessis (right) lands a solid jab on Sean Strickland during their Middleweight Title Bout during UFC 312 at Qudos Bank Arena on 9 February 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images) 
South African UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is aiming to have his name mentioned among the greats of his sport as he attempts to defend his belt for a third time at the iconic United Center in Chicago on Sunday morning, 17 August 2025, at UFC 319.
Du Plessis’ task won’t be easy as he prepares to do battle against one of the scariest fighters on the UFC roster in Khamzat Chimaev.
The South African took a walk through the United Center and described having “goosebumps” before entering the venue on the latest episode of UFC 319 Embedded.
The arena is iconic, as the biggest National Basketball Association stadium in the country with a capacity of more than 20,000. It’s home to the Chicago Bulls and has the famous statue of Chicago Bulls basketball legend Michael Jordan’s “flying” jump erected inside the venue. Below the statue, the words: “The best there ever was. The best there ever will be,” have been etched.
The statement is widely believed to be true of Jordan by many basketball fans, while for Du Plessis it’s what he’s aiming to become in the middleweight division of the UFC.
He’s tread the path to making the claim of being the best there ever has been superbly so far, by going undefeated in his first nine fights in the division and taking big names out on his way there, including Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland.
At this moment, the two fighters contesting for the crown of the greatest UFC middleweight fighter of all time are Adesanya and Anderson Silva.
Victory for Du Plessis on Sunday against Chimaev — who many believe is unbeatable, given not only his 8-0 record but also the fashion of his victories — will put him in the mix with those legendary fighters.
‘Next best’
Du Plessis has made no secret about the fact that Chimaev is one of the best fighters on the UFC roster, despite him only fighting twice in the UFC middleweight division so far, beating Kamaru Usman and former champion Whittaker before earning a title shot.
His time before then was spent in the welterweight division.
“I never wanted to be gifted anything, I wanted to fight the best of the best,” Du Plessis said. “Khamzat, as soon as he made the change to middleweight, I knew that our paths were destined to cross, and that’s a fight I want.
“For me it’s about the quality of opponents. Who did I beat? Fighting guys that are the best of the best, and Khamzat’s that guy.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2167221904.jpg "Dricus du Plessis fights Israel Adesanya of Nigeria in Perth, Australia. (Photo: Paul Kane / Getty Images)")
Chimaev has a reputation for ending fights in the first round, with five of his eight wins coming in the first five minutes. Du Plessis, though, is not planning to wear him out initially, but instead take the fight to him.
“I’m not going out there to survive anything, I’m going out there to hunt,” the South African champion said. “I’m a hunter, not a survivor. I’m going out there to flourish from the first second to the last. I’m there to win in the most spectacular fashion possible.
“The whole world’s excited for this fight because it’s truly the two best guys fighting each other. Everybody knows Khamzat is the best ‘next guy’. I just know that I am the best.”
But how’s the burly South African feeling after a 12-week camp in preparation for this bout?
“I’m feeling amazing, I’m feeling unstoppable,” he said.
Two stars
Chimaev, who moved from his home in Chechnya and became a dual citizen of the United Arab Emirates, compared the summer weather in Chicago to his new home.
“Hot weather, [it] feels like back in Dubai,” he said. For Chimaev, despite his massive reputation and the damage he has done in the octagon, this is also the biggest fight of his career.
His thoughts on what many fans believe could be the biggest fight of the year?
“They should expect Khamzat Chimaev in the cage,” he said. It’s an unclear answer but it is him acknowledging how his star has risen since entering the UFC octagon for the first time in 2020.
Du Plessis’ first UFC fight was also just a few months prior to that as the pair were little known at the time. Now their stars are aligning for a clash that’s set to be spectacular. Du Plessis could write his name among legends on Sunday morning. DM