Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev UFC 319 title bout gets official backup fighter

Khamzat Chimaev will finally get his shot at gold as he challenges Dricus du Plessis for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 319 in August. This bout is one of the most anticipated in the division's history, as the undefeated Chimaev is largely considered the uncrowned king, while du Plessis has a penchant for surprising everyone.

The UFC isn't risking anything with this one, as they've already set a worthy back-up fighter in case any of the headliners would get hurt in the lead-up. As reported by RMC Sport Combat, no.1-ranked Nassourdine Imavov would serve as the reserve in case the original main event loses one of its fighters.

UFC on TNT Sports posted the report on X:

"Nassourdine Imavov is reportedly set to serve as the backup fighter for Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev at #UFC319, per @RMCSportCombat"

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Fans might notice that Imavov is ahead of Khamzat Chimaev in the rankings. The back-up fighter is ranked no.1 while the challenger is at no.3. While this might ruffle some feathers, a large legion of fans believe that Chimaev fighting for the belt is long-overdue, if not for his health issues outside the cage.

Dricus du Plessis ready to "amaze" everyone again at UFC 319

Due to his awkward fighting style and rather unorthodox way of moving inside the cage, a lot of people were writing Dricus du Plessis off in some of his more high-profile bouts. In his two bouts with former world champions Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya, 'DDP' was the underdog coming in.

Not only did he beat both men, but he also finished them. With the undefeated Chimaev set to challenge his throne, du Plessis might very well come in as an underdog again. This may have been echoed by the champion's most recent Instagram post with the caption:

"Prepare to be amazed.. Again!"

If Du Plessis becomes the first man to derail the massive hype train behind Chimaev, it would be a massive feather in his cap. Not a lot of fighters in history have struck fear in the hearts of men quite like the Chechen-born wrestler.

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Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann