Dricus du Plessis names the toughest and the best opponents he has faced in the UFC

Dricus du Plessis recently opened up about the toughest opponents he's ever faced. The reigning UFC middleweight champion also named the best he's fought in the promotion.

'Stillknocks' is set to face Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight title fight at UFC 319 later this month. The event will take place at the United Center in Chicago. Ahead of his upcoming challenge, du Plessis spoke to Betway South Africa and was asked about his hardest fights. He replied:

"That's a very open-ended question... I would probably say [Israel] Adesanya was the best guy I faced, in his specific area. Probably the fight I was most nervous for... I think he's the best guy I have ever faced. Obviously, if you watched that fight, it was one hell of a fight. It was a tough night at the office for both of us."

He continued:

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"But then, if you just go on pure toughness, you have to go with either Brad Tavares or Sean Strickland. Just the amount of damage they were able to take and just keep going."

Watch the full clip below:

Gilbert Burns predicts Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev title fight

UFC star Gilbert Burns recently shared his prediction for the Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev title fight. The Brazilian notably backed du Plessis to beat the Chechen-born grappling savant and recalled training with the South African fighter.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Burns previewed the upcoming UFC 319 headliner and said:

"It's a very tough fight. Dricus is a monster. I trained a lot with Dricus when he was at Hard Knocks, unbelievably strong for that division, very big too, crazy gas tank. He looks tired, you look at him, 'Oh, he's getting tired,' but he's not. Hits very hard, does both stances, grappling defense [has also gotten] a lot better. I think right now he's going to focus on that to not get submitted."

He continued:

"And guess what? If Chimaev doesn't finish him in the first, or give him one more round, the second round, I don't think he can. I think it's going to be a long night, and Dricus can keep coming, keep coming. He gets stronger as the rounds are going. The guy doesn't quit, he doesn't break so, I got to go with Dricus on that one."

Catch Gilbert Burns' comments below (6:00):

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Edited by Nishant Zende.