Dricus du Plessis: Reinier de Ridder wants Dricus du Plessis to beat Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319: "We can line it up"

Reinier de Ridder recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev title fight and explained why he'd like the South African UFC star to win the encounter.

'Stillknocks' is set to face Chimaev in a middleweight title fight at UFC 319 later this month at the United Center in Chicago. While du Plessis is coming off a unanimous decision win over Sean Strickland in their rematch at UFC 312 in January, Chimaev last defeated Robert Whittaker via a devastating first-round submission at UFC 308 last October.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, de Ridder explained why du Plessis beating Chimaev was a better outcome for him and the division. Pointing out Chimaev's activity record, he said:

"I think if Khamzat wins this one, especially if he wins decisively, he'll be a huge name, and that might come with him taking a lot of time off after. So it might be better if Dricus wins, and then we can fight in 4–6 months. That would be best... So hopefully, it would be nice if Dricus wins and we can line it up."

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Reinier de Ridder believes Dricus du Plessis would be tougher opponent than Khamzat Chimaev

Reinier de Ridder recently explained why Dricus du Plessis was a tougher opponent to prepare for compared to Khamzat Chimaev. The Dutch fighter claimed that du Plessis' style was "weird" and unpredictable.

In an interview with ESPN MMA, de Ridder explained his stance on du Plessis being a tougher opponent than Chimaev and said:

''[Chimaev] would be like an easier guy to prepare for. Not that he is an easier fight, but he is more of a typical style. I can bring a couple of Dagestanis and a couple of Chechens in who wrestle pretty similar to Khamzat. He boxes pretty cleanly, like boxing, boxing style."

He continued:

"So yeah, that is not that spectacular, not that special in a sense that it's not as weird as [du Plessis] is, you know. It'll be harder to prepare for [du Plessis] but if he wins, he might be the bigger name, but in my mind I'm fighting both those guys in the next six to nine months anyway.''

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Edited by Nishant Zende.