Dricus du Plessis recently discussed his past desire to face Khamzat Chimaev in Abu Dhabi. The Chechen-born Chimaev is an official citizen of United Arab Emirates (UAE) after receiving his passport earlier this year.Notably, Chimaev hasn't fought in the United States since his first-round submission win over Kevin Holland at UFC 279 in 2022. He allegedly struggled to obtain a U.S. visa.However, Chimaev is now ready to return to American soil. In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, du Plessis, who is set to face the undefeated contender at UFC 319 on Aug. 16 in Chicago, said that he originally wanted to fight 'Borz' in the Arab region:''Hey, I'm going to be super honest with you, before this fight was made, I'm assuming the UFC got away for him or his team, I don't know, somebody figured out that he can't get into the US before announcing the fight for sure and before letting me know that we are fighting. So my request was I asked the UFC and I begged them actually, I want to fight him either in Abu Dhabi, fight him in his neck of the woods like I have been doing with so many other opponents.''He continued:''And I've grown quite fond of that. So that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to fight in Abu Dhabi, Saudi [Arabia], any of that region, anywhere in that region, fight him there in front of his own crowd, his people.''Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below:Dricus du Plessis is ready to solidify his legacy by defeating Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319Dricus du Plessis, who is the underdog against Khamzat Chimaev in their title fight at UFC 319, isn't worried about the odds and aims to put on a strong performance later this month.In a recent interview with FOX 32 Chicago, the reigning middleweight champion said:''I'm the underdog. I've been the underdog for most of my career, yet I am the champion. So, odds don't make fights and for me, I 100 percent believe this is the best opponent that I have faced to date. But so was the previous one. Every time you step in there, you're going to face the next most dangerous guy, especially as the champion. So for me, yes, this is the best opponent I've ever come up against, but once again, I'll show my improvements and why I am the champion."Check out Dricus du Plessis' comments below (0:41):