"You’re not Jon Jones” - Nassourdine Imavov brutally slams Dricus du Plessis for downplaying back-up fighter role for Khamzat Chimaev fight

Dricus du Plessis is scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev for the middleweight title at UFC 319 in August. However, should either fighter be unable to make the walk on fight night, surging contender Nassourdine Imavov has been named as the official emergency replacement. But according to du Plessis, his willingness to face Imavov depends on when Chimaev becomes unavailable.

'Stillknocks' stated that his sole goal is to face Chimaev, and he would not want to jeopardize that opportunity by accepting a shorter-notice bout against Imavov. But his stance has drawn a fiery response from the Frenchman.

A snippet of the middleweight champion's comments was posted to X by @RMCSportsCombat, where he said:

"I have to be honest, if [Chimav] pulls out of this fight early I will not fight Imavov, because I want to fight Khamzat. I don't want anything else. If I'm already there, you know, two weeks [from the fight], I'll fight Imavov if [Chimaev] pulls out. But if he pulls out on four weeks, I'm not gonna fight [Imavov]. I'll wait for [Chimaev] to be ready."

'The Sniper' came across du Plessis' words online, and responded by saying:

"Thanks for the compliments @dricusduplessis, but you're not Jon Jones, if something happens, you're not going to block anything, if you're not ready to defend leave the place.."

Check out Nassourdine Imavov's response to Dricus du Plessis below:

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Dricus du Plessis believes Khamzat Chimaev doesn't know what he's in store for

UFC 319 will feature one of the most anticipated title matchups of 2025, as Dricus du Plessis will face off against Khamzat Chimaev. Neither fighter has lost in the UFC, with 'Stillknocks' holding a promotional record of 9-0 while his opponent holds a record of 8-0.

'Borz' has never suffered defeat in his career, with an overall record of 14-0. But ahead of their bout, du Plessis confidently stated that Chimaev will not have faced a fighter like him ever before.

The middleweight king posted a picture on Instagram and wrote:

"I don’t care how good you think you are how tough how fit or how strong, when you step into that octagon with me it will be a first time experience and not a pleasant one, that’s a promise. As we say in 🇿🇦 built different!! Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie. [They don't know what we know]"

Check out Dricus du Plessis' post below: