I’LL SLAT KHAMZAT

DRICUS du Plessis will defend his middleweight title for a third time against Russian Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 on 16 August in Chicago, USA.

UFC dik ding Dana White announced the headline event of the fight night on Tuesday, during an Instagram Live stream.

Du Plessis first beat Sean Strickland to earn the middleweight belt, before defending against Israel Adesanya and defeating Strickland again.

On his fight against Chimaev, Du Plessis tells CBS Sports: “I think everyone has been moving backward trying to evade that takedown.

“No, no, no. I’m not scared of Khamzat’s wrestling. I’m not evading. I’m not trying to stay off the ground with Khamzat. That’s the mistake everyone makes. I’m going to fight Khamzat wherever the fight goes.”

Having celebrated his 31st birthday in January, Du Plessis could remain at the top of the UFC landscape for at least another few years.

Of course, a brutal contact sport like UFC is anything but predictable and all it could take is one moerse klap or momentary loss in concentration for Du Plessis to lose a fight.

That however, hasn’t happened since his debut in the UFC in October 2020.

Since then, Du Plessis has notched up nine wins in a row which included winning the middleweight title in his seventh fight.

Though Du Plessis has had his fighting style described as “a white guy dancing”, his unorthodox approach is certainly effective.

Lending credence to his ability, are his former welterweight and Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC), and Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) titles.

The Welkom-born Du Plessis has a grounding in judo and wrestling before taking up kickboxing at the age of 14. He went on to win gold at the Kickboxing World Championships at the age of 17.