Dricus du Plessis suffered one of the most lopsided decision losses in UFC title fight history last August in his matchup with Khamzat Chimaev. Now, the former UFC middleweight champion is doing everything in his power to correct course.
Although the fight front has been quiet for du Plessis since UFC 319, he has been working to improve. While most wrestlers may not want to revisit a dominant loss, that’s not the case for “DDP.” Speaking on Tuesday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show,” the South African contender shared that he has been watching his loss against Chimaev at least twice a week since September.
Advertisement
“Was [difficult] at first, because it’s the most boring fight in the world,” du Plessis told Uncrowned. “So it’s hard to get over it, but yeah, I mean, it’s the right thing to do. And obviously I didn’t like seeing myself lose (I hated it), but that’s how I learn. That was just a learning experience. In fact, I watch the fight a lot and [am] making sure those same mistakes don’t happen again.
“That’s how I study fights. I would say it took me about three weeks after the fight before I watched them again. And then since then I’ve watched them pretty frequently to make sure it’s part of my training: watching my fights and knowing what I did wrong and seeing the mistakes.”
Du Plessis’ persistence is admirable, considering how his fight against Chimaev played out. It was a classic Chimaev fighting showcase, with the now champion having barely any resistance: du Plessis was knocked down 12 times in 25 minutes and outmatched by a whopping 529 punches to 45, for UFC statistics.
Advertisement
But du Plessis never reached a breaking point, despite the relentless pressure he received. He kept going until the end and even gained a strong position in the final seconds. While it wasn’t enough to secure what could have been an all-time comeback, du Plessis said Chimaev’s abilities never exceeded the expectations he had at the start.
“It wasn’t harder than I expected,” du Plessis said. “I could see at the end of that fight, when we got to the final round, I honestly thought I was [going to still win] This fight until I heard that 10 second clapper and knew it was over. But when I came out for the last round, I was 100% sure I was going to stop this guy or knock him out. And when I got that takedown, I went up, I choked, I started landing, I was starting to…too little, too late. I could feel that I didn’t want to be there anymore. I could feel it, 100%. Just because of how he looks, just because of how he feels. I could feel when I got on top of him, I could feel him saying, ‘Oh, shit.’ But he was basically on top the entire fight.
“I know I can make that man quit. There is no man alive who can break my will. There is no man alive who can break me mentally. There is no way.”
Like Du Plessis, Chimaev has also remained sidelined since their August showdown. Many expect an eventual pairing between Chimaev and top contender Nassourdine Imavov or Sean Strickland in the near future. Until then, du Plessis will sit back and assess the landscape with the rest of the division.
Advertisement
But the loss only motivated DDP and fueled a new fire to become a two-time champion. Du Plessis still believes Chimaev is not all he seems, and ideally he will have the opportunity to prove it one day, whether at 185 or 205 pounds.
“I would love to fight him for the title,” du Plessis said. “Yes, I also want to get my victory back. Now, if he moves up to light heavyweight, I will get my belt back and [then] I’ll run out and look for him.
“I just know that I’m a more physical person than him. He was just better [at] 10% of this game than me.”
Advertisement
While light heavyweight rumors surrounding Chimaev have been squashed in recent weeks, du Plessis is not entirely sold on the prospect of the champion, a former welterweight, finding success in the sport’s second-heaviest division.
“People say he’s very big. He’s not a big guy,” du Plessis said. “When I went in there, I was surprised how small he was, actually. He’s lanky and tall, but he’s not a thick guy. No, I would say at middleweight, he’s a middleweight in average strength. His ground technique is very good, his ground pressure is very good, and that makes him tough, that makes him difficult to deal with on the ground.”
Du Plessis presumably won’t be far away from a shot at redemption once he returns. His two title defenses of his middleweight reign came against former champions Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, capping his impressive nine-fight UFC winning streak before Chimaev’s loss.
After dealing with a minor injury, du Plessis aims to return around April.