Dricus du Plessis called “all hard work, no talent” ahead of Khamzat Chimaev showdown

Dricus du Plessis is set to defend his UFC middleweight title against the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319 in August. Ahead of the fight, the South African has earned praise from a renowned MMA manager.

This will be the third title defense for 'Stillknocks' and might be his toughest. And yet, time and time again, du Plessis' legendary work ethic and determination have proven his doubters wrong.

Dricus du Plessis is the kind of fighter who continually defies the odds. Despite people criticizing him for lack of natural talent or technical ability, the South African behemoth always gets the job done. He has dispatched three former world champions in his bloody romp in the division already, and Chimaev might be in for a surprise.

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'DDP' was described perfectly by prominent MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz, who manages the likes of Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman. When asked who he is rooting for in the upcoming middleweight title clash, Abdelaziz told Submission Radio:

"My heart says I want Khamzat [Chimaev] to win, you know. He's my friend. I know him, you know. But you cannot not put respect [to] the champ the middleweight champion [Dricus] du Plessis, you know. This guy, so tough. It's all hard work, no talent. I'm a big fan of his, honestly."

Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below (24:52):

Khamzat Chimaev trolls Dricus du Plessis, Caio Borralho, and Nassourdine Imavov

Ahead of his first world title shot, Khamzat Chimaev is back to his trolling ways, particularly his penchant for purposely getting his rivals' names wrong. Though it's widely known that English isn't the Chechen-born fighter's first language, the way he misspells these names is hilarious.

In a recent tweet, 'Borz' called out the No.6-ranked Caio Borralho, UFC 319 back-up fighter Nassourdine Imavov, and the champion Dricus du Plessis. He wrote:

"Kaio Imamov diplisi. There is only one Champion and they all know it."

Check out Khamzat Chimaev's post below (via @ChampRds on X):

Expand Tweet

Interestingly, Imavov is the official back-up fighter for the du Plessis-Chimaev fight. And yet, he's ranked No.1, two rungs above the challenger Chimaev, who currently sits at No.3. While this might not sit well with fans of Imavov, a lot of fans, fighters, and pundits believe that Chimaev is the uncrowned king of the middleweight. Only time will tell.

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi