Dricus du Plessis outlines one mistake Khamzat Chimaev's previous opponents made in their fights against him: "Didn't you train?"

Dricus du Plessis sees no mystery in Khamzat Chimaev’s approach. The UFC middleweight champion believes many of Chimaev’s past opponents have been too reactive, waiting for the takedown instead of fighting on their terms.

He feels that mindset plays directly into the undefeated contender’s strengths. Du Plessis expects Chimaev to shoot early and often, but he has no intention of letting that dictate the pace. He says he has prepared for wrestling and grappling in camp, but will not let his strategy revolve solely around countering them.

Speaking at the UFC 319 pre-fight media scrum, du Plessis said:

"Yeah, I think at the end of the day, you can go out there and a lot of guys have made this mistake fighting him, going in and saying, 'I need to watch out for that. He's going to shoot. I need to be ready. I have to watch out.' And then they don't do anything until he does shoot and gets them down anyway. You have to go out there and fight, man. Didn't you train?"

He added:

"I understand that he's really good at wrestling and he's really good on the ground, but I mean that is the game...That's truly how I feel about this fight. Yes, he is going to shoot, and yes, he is probably going to take me down. But I'm going to shoot too, and I'm probably going to take him down. I'm going to strike, and I'm probably going to hit him, and he's going to strike and probably hit me. I'm not scared of any of that."

Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (2:20):

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Dricus Du Plessis talks about dictating pace ahead of Khamzat Chimaev clash at UFC 319

Dricus Du Plessis will defend his middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev in Saturday’s UFC 319 main event in Chicago. The South African enters as the betting underdog but believes his style will force Chimaev into deep waters.

Du Plessis expects a high-paced fight from the opening bell and is confident his conditioning will be the deciding factor over five rounds. Speaking at the pre-fight media scrum, du Plessis said:

“I’m going out there to fight the way [I fight] and see what happens. He didn’t change his game plan with Robert Whittaker because it was a five-rounder. That kind of already gives me the sense that he’s not gonna think about the five rounds when he should be. Five rounds is a long time, and I am not scared to get into that dark place. We’ve seen that. If we go full speed, you know, I can fight tired all day. I’ve done that many times. So, let’s go for it. Let’s go from the first bell to the last. Let’s go full speed and see who quits.”