Dricus du Plessis draws eye-opening comparison between Khamzat Chimaev's style and his own: "This is different, we've seen that"

Dricus du Plessis is not buying into the narrative that Khamzat Chimaev brings something he has never seen before. The South African champion believes Chimaev’s wrestling and grappling are elite but not unique.

Du Plessis believes that while Chimaev’s style is effective, it is rooted in traditional wrestling principles. In contrast, his methods are unconventional and harder to prepare for.

He dismissed the idea that being an underdog changes anything for him. Odds, he said, have never dictated the outcome of a fight. Previewing his upcoming clash against Chimaev at UFC 319 in an interview with SHAK MMA, du Plessis said:

"He hasn’t been in there with me, and he hasn’t been on the ground with me either... The way he does things is the way that it should be done 100 percent. From a wrestling and grappling perspective, he does not do something that hasn’t been seen before... There’s been guys that do it exactly the way he does, but I don’t think there’s been a lot of guys that do it the way I do it."

He added:

"This is different, we’ve seen that... It is not wrestling, and it’s not grappling. It’s MMA. There’s a big difference... I’ll just know when it happens. Eventually, they all break. Odds don’t make fights. Fighters do. I agree that I became everything people thought he was going to be, but that’s because I’m built different. I want to fight the best of the best. Go compare our resumes. It’s ridiculous.”

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Dricus du Plessis plans to push for Dana White to grant his UFC dream after beating Khamzat Chimaev

Dricus du Plessis intends to revive talks of bringing the UFC to Africa if he gets past Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. The reigning UFC middleweight champion has not fought on his home continent since 2017.

The UFC has never staged an event in Africa, leaving the door open for du Plessis to make history. He believes the timing is right, considering the sport’s surge in popularity in his country and the strong public backing he enjoys.

Speaking in a recent interview with Scott Fontana for the New York Post, du Plessis said:

"I know the conversations are there between the UFC and South Africa, and the sports ministers, and the cities, and the arenas, everything is in conversation. But as an update on where we are, I don’t have anything. That is definitely something that I will get after as soon as I am done after this fight. … The UFC is now massive [in South Africa]. The country is so behind the UFC and myself, behind me fighting."

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (11:20):