Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis fight during UFC 312 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, on 9 February 2025. (Photo: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images) 
The build-up to the highly anticipated UFC middleweight fight between champion Dricus du Plessis and number one contender Khamzat Chimaev has been fairly respectful so far.
The pair met in the lobby of the athlete’s hotel — in Chicago, where UFC 319 is being held — for the first time prior to their fight and had a courteous greeting. The talk before the fight has been civil from both camps, respecting the quality of the opposing fighters.
In the past, Du Plessis was dragged into verbal spats in his fights against former champions Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. This time, however, it’s clear that none of that is necessary to help sell the fight, with all the focus instead being on who will come out on top out of the two best current middleweight fighters in the UFC.
“You can be the biggest asshole in the world or the nicest guy in the world, I’m still going out there to try and kill you,” Du Plessis said at the UFC media day.
By virtue of being the two biggest stars in the division, they’ve ensured that the main event at UFC 319 is a fight fans want to see without having to resort to any personal jabs.
“People want to see the two best fighters in the world go at it, and it’s why this fight is so big,” Du Plessis said. “A lot of times it’s not possible to get the two best guys [to fight], because one is injured and sometimes the two best guys in the world don’t want to fight each other.
“Because it’s tough and there can be only one winner. I want to fight the best in the world, and now people can see it.”
The fighters’ brief meeting was also an opportunity for them to size each other up. A quick Google search says that Chimaev has a five-centimetre height advantage over the South African, but according to Du Plessis it felt a lot bigger.
“He’s eight feet tall, basically I walked into Godzilla,” Du Plessis joked. The burly South African usually has the size advantage against his opponents in the middleweight division — either in height or mass.
Grappling threat
Most of the talk before Sunday morning’s brawl has been about Chimaev’s wrestling and his ability to submit opponents early in the first round. Du Plessis, though, is embracing the challenge against someone he thinks is “the best opponent [he’s] ever faced”.
“A lot of guys have made this mistake fighting him… saying ‘he’s going to shoot, I need to watch out’ and then they don’t do anything until he does shoot and gets them down anyway,” Du Plessis said about his tactics headed into the fight.
“You have to go out there and fight… I understand that he’s really good at wrestling and he’s really good on the ground, [but] that’s the game.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/11791540.jpg "Khamzat Chimaev, on top, in action against Kamaru Usman during the UFC 294 middleweight bout in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 21 October 2023. (Photo: EPA / Ali Haider)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2167221949.jpg "Dricus Du Plessis fights Israel Adesanya of Nigeria in Perth, Australia. (Photo: Paul Kane / Getty Images)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/11791545.jpg "Khamzat Chimaev (right ) kicks Kamaru Usman during the UFC 294 middleweight bout in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 21 October 2023. (Photo: EPA / Ali Haider)")
“He’s probably going to shoot and he’s probably going to take me down, but I’m going to shoot too and probably going to take him down… I’m not scared of any of that.”
While wrestling is likely going to play a big role in the outcome of the fight and it’s something Du Plessis prepared for in his fight camp, it doesn’t mean he’s going to change his style.
“I go into any fight with the mindset that I’ll definitely get hit [or] taken down, but what do I do after that?
“I’m not going out there to fight his fight, I’m going out there to do what Dricus does — and that is be a world champion.”
All-round fighter
While Chimaev is an expert wrestler, Du Plessis is accomplished at several mixed martial arts (MMA) styles, with his best being kickboxing — given his background as a star youth kickboxer. But he’s developed into an all-round MMA fighter.
He believes that the current evolution of the sport has led to his all-round game, and that and his grit are the factors that have seen him scale the middleweight division.
“Everybody is so good at everything… we are going back to the educated brawler,” he said. “The guy who can defend takedowns, can defend submissions, can go for submissions, can strike…
“The guy who can take the most and give the most. I believe that’s why we developed this style. It’s about putting the pressure on your opponent and throwing what needs to be thrown in the moment.”
His trademark unorthodox style has made Du Plessis a champion, and he’s sticking with fighting his way when he steps into the octagon against Chimaev on Sunday morning. DM
UFC 319 main card gets under way at 4am on Sunday morning with the first round of the main fight between Du Plessis and Chimaev to start at about 6am.