Dricus du Plessis recently reflected on his UFC debut fight and recalled how unprepared he was despite looking confident on the outside. The South African fighter also spoke about the pressure he felt going into that fight and how the outcome of the bout may have impacted the trajectory of his career.'Stillknocks' made his UFC debut against Markus Perez in October 2020 and secured an impressive first-round knockout victory. The South African went unbeaten in his next six outings to become the UFC middleweight champion and then defended the title twice.He's now set to face Khamzat Chimaev for his next challenge at UFC 319 next month. Ahead of his upcoming title defense, du Plessis reflected on his first Octagon outing during an interview and said:"It's been five years. It's crazy how fast the time goes when you're doing the thing you love. I actually watched my debut fight yesterday, I was literally going through all my fights yesterday... I had a ten-day notice to make that and it was the least prepared I've ever been for a fight. The guy you see on TV, I look so composed and loving and smiling, but inside, I was terrified."He continued:"My opponent had a great game plan of pressuring me, because he knew the pressure was on me as a debutant. I got the first-round KO so I couldn't really ask for a better debut. That fight was probably just as important as a title fight for me... That fight was special."UFC vet predicts Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev title fightFormer UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight. The 185-pound title fight will headline the UFC 319 card next month.In an interview with MMA Junkie, Burns recalled training with du Plessis back in the day and issued a definitive prediction for the South African fighter's next fight. He 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):